Gamble
by Want
Summary: It's a birthday the Kagamine twins will never forget. When Rin goes missing, Len is determined to do everything possible to save her from the clutches of the elusive 'Joker'.
1. Chapter 1: Birthday

Based somewhat off of the Vocaloid video Joker. None of the characters in this story belong to me but to the Yamaha Corporation, etc. Contains yaoi.

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It was a bitterly cold day in December. The day after Christmas had been the perfect day to go shopping for some good sales, and the Kagamine twins were not of those to waste such an opportunity, at least one of them was. Rin was eager to buy a new outfit. Tomorrow was going to be a special day, shared with her brother, Len. It wasn't as though her current choice of clothing was bad or anything. Rin just felt that it wasn't glamorous enough for such an occasion.

"Len! What about this one?" she called to the blond boy slouched on a nearby bench. The short-haired girl held up an orange, sleeveless dress with glittered flower designs.

Len simply stared back at her with a blank expression, looking up from his handheld video game. Shopping wasn't exactly something he enjoyed, and he didn't exactly understand what the big deal was with his twin and clothes. She looked fine enough in a black parka and white skinny jeans. It was his mother's idea for Len to wear the exact opposite of his sister, a white parka and black skinny jeans.

Rin bit her lip, internally fuming. Did he not care at all? When he went back to looking at his game, the sister snatched it from him and pressed the power button till the screen went black.

"Hey! I hadn't saved!"

"There are more important things than a stupid game, Len. Now, I'll ask again. What do you think of this outfit?" she responded. Rin held a glare and pout as she held up the dress again, making sure her brother got a good look of it.

"It's okay… Can I play my game now?"

"No," Rin stated, sticking her tongue out spitefully. Then she stuffed the handheld device into her purse before zipping it up. When Len reached for it, the girl turned away and began walking towards the cashier, clutching the dress. All the while, her brother glared at her, focusing on everything from the large white bow in her blond hair to the white converse sneakers, and in all honesty, Rin didn't care, satisfied with her victory for now.

While on the road, Rin furiously texted to her friend, Miku. Len would occasionally look over at the orange cell phone screen and roll his eyes. Rin was incredibly jealous of Miku and would sometimes express her hatred of the green-haired girl to her brother. She was always asking her twin what he thought of the other girl. Whenever he said, "She's okay," you could see the anger in Rin's eyes. He knew she was lying when she texted, "I can't wait to see you at the party tomorrow. We're going to have such a good time." Rin just wanted the presents and to talk a little about Miku behind her back.

It had been decided that the party was going to take place at the local fairground. Len had been against this, stating that there would be way too many people and way too cold, but Rin had dismissed his plea. She was determined to have the birthday party of her dreams, and nothing would stop her from accomplishing that. Money wouldn't be a problem. The twins' singing gig had brought in tons of cash. Guests weren't a problem. She already had made a list. Her girlfriends, Luka, Meiko, and Miku, would be coming. Even that cute guy, Gakupo, from school would attend. Len hadn't invited anyone, knowing that Rin would have certainly taken care of that part.

That night, Rin had asked an odd question while they were brushing their teeth. They stood, side by side, in front of the large bathroom mirror. While Len was busily scrubbing away the remnants of that night's meal, his sister suddenly let something slip from her lips, "Do you love me?" The question hung in the air like a weight, pressing down on the brother's shoulders. He stopped at that moment with the yellow toothbrush pressed inside his mouth. When he tried to respond, only gibberish came out. Rin sighed and said, "It's okay. It doesn't matter much anyways." Then she walked away into their shared bedroom, closing the door with a soundly shut. Len stood there for a moment before spitting out the bits of toothpaste and saliva into the sink. After washing the utensil, he followed his sister into the room. "I love you, Rin," he said quietly. But Rin never heard for she was already fast asleep.

The next morning was just like the usual routine, only with more ecstasy from Rin. While Len took his time getting ready, Rin practically ran through the halls with a giant grin on her face. Her sweet laughter could be heard throughout the entire household. Len had tried to hide from her underneath his pillow but to no avail. His sister had pounced upon the bed, shrieking, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Then she began dragging him out from underneath the covers while he complained about the time. Apparently, the girl really didn't care that it was five 'o clock. It was her special day, and she wanted to make sure that everyone knew it, even if she had to share it with her brother.

That Sunday morning was spent with the sound of the phone ringing. While Len tried to read a book, Rin had dialed all of the numbers on her guest list and began chatting away. Miku, Meiko, and Luka were all attending. Rin had pressed desperately at all three about what her presents could possibly be. Miku and Luka would just say that telling would ruin the surprise. Meiko, on the other hand, would tease Rin, saying how special hers would be. All the while Len sat there in irritation.

Eventually, the irritation had to release itself. Rin had finished calling all of the attendants by three in the afternoon. Without anyone to talk to, she had become increasingly more and more bored. Len hadn't yet looked up from his book since breakfast time. Rin slowly leaned over his shoulder, positioning herself on the couch to get a better peak at the book. The long sentences and words that she read confused her. As a solution to both predicaments, the sister had snatched the book away from her unsuspecting brother like she had done the day before with the video game.

"Lennnnn. What about this book is so good?" she said, dangling it in front of him while trying to decipher its secret message. When Len reached for the book, the girl had dodged the attempt before rolling off the couch and running. She stopped for only a few moments to stick her tongue out and yell, "Can't catch me!"

Len had originally played along with her game, but every time he reached for it, it always slipped his grasp as quickly as it had come into it. After chasing her throughout the house to no avail, the boy decided that the little kid needed to be taught a lesson. He stood straight and rigid in place.

"Len?" she asked, looking back at him questionably. "Don't you want to play?"

"Shut up," he replied rudely. "I'm sick of your stupid little games. If you're going to brag about today being your birthday, at least act your age."

"W-what do you mean?"

"You're such a little baby, Rin. You're so selfish and immature; it's unbelievable and unbearable. I wish that you would just get out of my life already."

Len never got angry, and he never, ever yelled at Rin. Tears had begun to swell up in her eyes. She had begun to sniffle, clearly hurt. The girl tossed the book onto the ground before burying her face in her hands.

"I hate you!" she yelled before running off to her parents' room, followed by a loud slam.

The brother had plucked the fallen book by the spine, stunned at what he had said. He had never meant to hurt her. He would have never hurt his sister purposely. He was just angry and irritable. Biting his lower lip, the teenager turned to the nearest wall and swung his fist into it. The banging noise and the sting that went up his arm hadn't satisfied him in the least. He couldn't be satisfied with knowing that she hated him.

They hadn't said a word to each other for the rest of the day. Tension was rising throughout the household. Even their parents couldn't help but notice the inner distress of their children, especially within Rin. She had been so happy this morning, but now, all of the happiness had disintegrated.

She seemed empty as she got ready for the party. She padded her face with powder and applied her eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss. Her hair had been neatly combed with yellow hair clips being placed throughout to match the sequins on her dress. Instead of the large white ribbon she wore, Rin decorated her head with a smaller, yellow bow. For some reason, her ears had never been pierced like the people at school had. Instead, she had to put little flower clip-ons on her ears. To complete her look, the sister wore simple sandals on her feet even if it was December. Winter wouldn't stop her from dressing nicely and being fashionable on her special day, but Rin reminded herself to slip a jacket in the car in case it got too cold.

Her brother, on the hand, had not even tried to dress fashionably or 'nice' like his sister had. He wore a thin jacket over his graphic t-shirt with dark skinny jeans and a pair of black and white converse. His hair was ruffled up and tied back only with a hair tie to make a spiky ponytail. He much preferred to be comfortable than look nice.

It had been silent on the way to the fairgrounds. Their parents only needed to drop them off. The twins were trusted to look after each other until eleven. Rin had scheduled everything exactly, not letting her mother interfere in any way. She spent the time on her cellphone, texting Miku and her other friends hurriedly. Most of what she typed was questioning over her presents. Len focused on his electronic game. He had almost a few levels to go before achieving victory. It was the only game he hadn't beaten already of his collection, and his determination was obvious as he bit his lip in concentration. Rin had to elbow him in the chest to get him to realize that they had arrived. Len sighed irritably, having lost all of his lives at that moment. She simply glared back, showing her own irritation.

As soon as Len stepped out of the car, he could see his sister rushing towards a girl with long turquoise-tinted pigtails, Miku. They grinned with delight at the sight of each other, giving a friendly hug. The boy rolled his eyes again. Rin was such a faker. Pretty soon, two other girls had arrived. One was considerably older than the rest with cropped brown hair and dressed in red, Meiko. A calm and collective girl with pink hair was dressed in turquoise, matching Miku who was dressed in pink. Luka and Miku seemed to be pretty close, and even though Rin hated Miku, the blond girl was a little jealous of their relationship.

"Hey, shrimp," Meiko called teasingly, ruffling Len's hair. Len sighed. She was only a few inches taller, not that much.

Luka and Miku approached gingerly, commenting Len about how handsome he had become. Miku had suggested it, and Luka had agreed with a giggle. This made the boy turn a light shade of pink, and for the first time since their argument, Rin laughed. This made Len smile. He loved it whenever Rin laughed or smiled. It was so sweet and innocent, just like she was..

"Come on, Len!" Rin called with a grin, running off towards the gates.

Each member of the party had their own special ticket to get inside. Meiko had to search herself before finally pulling it out between her cleavage. She had snickered at Len's horrified expression, saying, "If you have'em, use'em." The boy thought that that was probably where she had hidden his present as well and couldn't help but feel a little sick to his stomach. The party members were first directed to a group of picnic tables where balloons and other party favors had been set around. The Kagamine brother was more interested in the bright lights of the Ferris Wheel and roller coaster. He couldn't wait to ride them. Len wanted to feel the rush of it all, but when he tried to sneak away, he felt a tug on his arm.

"Leeeennnnn. We've got to open our presents first," Rin called plaintively, dragging her brother back to the tables.

Each girl placed two wrapped gifts on the table, except for Meiko. She had only placed one present down, removing it from her purse to Len's delight.

Meiko winked at Rin and said, "Don't worry. Yours will show up eventually."

Rin grabbed the pink box with a blue bow from Luka first. From inside, she pulled out a shining crystal hanging from a delicate gold chain. "Luka! This isn't your necklace is it?"

"You deserve it more than me... Len, open yours."

When Len opened a matching box to Rin's, he discovered a pair of new headphones inside. Grinning at Luka was all it took to get her to blush.

"Mine next, please!" Miku shouted happily. She produced two green boxes with white bows. When Len opened his, he discovered a new book, one that he had happened to mention about to Rin one day. Looking over at his sister, he smiled as she pulled out a frilled pink dress.

"Alright, banana boy. Open mine?" Meiko said with a grin and handed Len a red bag. When he looked inside, the first thing he saw was a box of some sort.

"Rubber, medium, for her plea-" He stopped immediately, realizing what it was and hid it behind his back from the rest of the girls.

Meiko just chuckled loudly and whispered into his ear, "There's a twenty underneath the condoms."

Suddenly, footsteps could be heard as all eyes at the tables looked up to see a stranger approaching. A tall man with long purple hair made his appearance calmly and coolly dressed professionally. A white collared dress shirt had been unbuttoned a little bit to reveal his collar bone and some skin underneath. He wore rings upon his thin fingers, and black slacks covered his long legs. Black dress shoes complimented his outfit. For added effect, he had worn a pair of black glasses. "I was supposed to be meeting a birthday girl.. Would you happen to know who she is?"

"T-today's my birthday," Rin said quickly, blushing profusely as her girl friends giggled.

"I told you it was a special gift," Meiko whispered to Rin as she passed by her, carrying the twins' presents. "I'm going to go put these in my car for right now. You kids have fun.~ As for me, I'm getting sake!"

Then they were left alone by the only adult of the group in a carnival full of people. Pretty soon, no one was around but Len. Miku and Luka had wandered off in one direction, and his sister had left with that prissy purple boy in the other.

This was going to be a birthday to remember.


	2. Chapter 2: Fun and Games

First off, I do not hate Gakupo. xD;;; I promise. I just like Len and Kaito more.

* * *

Len had approached the towering wooden track with eager. He couldn't wait to feel the wind rush the strands of his ponytail and hear the banging and clicking brought from the wheels upon the rails. However, there was quite the line outside. He frowned, stuffing his hands into his pockets. His eyes darted upwards to the people already on the ride, and he could barely make out a pink and turquoise swirl as the coaster rushed down from the top. "Guess Luka and Miku are already on…"

Rin and her date, who called himself Gakupo, had went around at the game booths set up. She felt a little awkward, having never really been on a date before. He was two years older than her at seventeen like Luka. He had offered his hand to her once, but she had refused shyly. He had frowned slightly as if annoyed. The fact that Rin crossed her hands over her chest made him even more so.

"Perhaps, I could win you a teddy bear or something?" he suggested with a sigh.

The purple-haired male had stopped before a booth where you had to throw baseballs and knock bottles over, a classic fair game. When Rin simply nodded in reply, Gakupo reached a hand into his pocket before removing a one dollar bill.

"Alright. You get four chances for this here dollar to knock the bottles over. If you succeed, you get to choose a prize," the vender announced after being handed the dollar.

Rin watched as his arm winded back into a pitch. It seemed as though he was putting as much concentration into the ball as possible. Then he threw the ball forward from his fingertips… It missed the bottles, going too far to the right.

"Hmph. My aim was off," Gakupo commented.

On the next two tries, Gakupo had not only managed to miss the bottles entirely, but he had also left a bruise clear on the vender's forehead. Rin had giggled at this with her hand covering her mouth slyly. A harsh glare was given by her date, and she looked down to avoid the steely gaze.

"Tsh. I just have bad luck tonight."

His last throw had been delivered elegantly. The girl was reminded of a samurai for some reason, delivering a blow that was surely fatal.. This blow wasn't fatal to the bottles, however. This time, the pitch had landed, but the bottles didn't even budge from their upright position.

Seeing her date's deathly serious expression, Rin could not contain her laughter any longer. She clutched her stomach and heaved as loud laughs escaped her.

Gakupo's eyebrow seemed to be twitching ever so slightly in annoyance. A deep scowl was present as he pulled out a five from his pocket, slamming his hand onto the vender's table.

"Twenty. Now."

Len was finally at the head of the line. He felt slightly nervous by the heights and by the fact that several people had been seen heaving into a nearby trashcan. Unfortunately, he had eaten dinner before coming as his parents suggested. Honestly, the boy did not want to taste regurgitated macaroni and cheese.

"Step aboard and remember to keep your seatbelts on at all times. Thank you for riding the _Magnet."_

Len had stepped inside the wooden coaster with relative ease. Though the boy couldn't deny that his oxygen intake had increased slightly. He had strapped the synthetic material about his body in a criss-cross fashion.

His gaze shifted from the rickety wood of the track to his right. Looking at his partner for this ride made him raise an eyebrow. A grinning girl with reddish pink swirly pigtails had sat beside him. In her hands appeared to be a crust of bread. "Want some?" she asked with a friendly smile.

However, the roller coaster had already lurched forward, causing the girl to drop her piece of bread. Her mouth was agape the entire time at the machine began climbing the slope. Len had to look away from the drama. She seemed so upset at losing just a piece of bread. He swore that she even had a tear in her eye.

Len now stared at the impending doom ahead. The car just kept climbing higher and higher. Why had he chosen the first seat, why? Sweat began to rise, along with goosebumps as the girl beside him wailed about her missing bread. Then it happened. In one swift motion, they had risen to the very top of the hill before speeding down. Winding around turns and whooshing down smaller hills had made his head spin. He saw the night sky and the stars spinning out of sight. He felt the macaroni fighting up his esophagus, but fortunately, Len swallowed it back down sickeningly.

Then it was all over. The car pulled to a grinding stop. The boy pulled off the seatbelt in a dizzy slur. Fortunately, there had been no loops. It was a wooden coaster after all. Suddenly, a new sensation came between his legs. A gurgling sound and wet feeling alerted him. Even though, he had kept his macaroni and cheese down, his partner had not. Len groaned in annoyance as the girl began rapidly apologizing. He left her there at the ride, stumbling to get some napkins.

Gakupo had not once managed to knock the bottles over even after a hundred tries. His money had been spent all on a stupid booth game. Anger was apparent in his clenched jaw. The male's nails dug into the wood as he shot daggers at anyone nearby.

Rin had found so much humor in all of this, but she kept it hidden with her hand. However, her snickering smile managed to peek out slightly.

"Let me t-try," she said aloud, trying to keep herself from giggling too much. The girl fished out a quarter from the purse at her side and placed it on the counter.

The booth manager at this time was sure that he was going to get murdered. The sheer glare that was given to him by the purple-haired man made him feel as though a knife was being dug into his stomach. With a gulp and a shaky hand, he took the quarter from the girl and handed her one baseball.

"Thank you!" Rin said with a wide grin.

She had gotten into a rather cute yet ridiculous pose. Out of the corner of her mouth, a pink tongue could be seen sticking out. Her right eye was closed as she held the ball in her palm. Winding back her arm, Rin threw the ball towards the bottles.

Brrrrriiinnnngggg!

The bottles had ringed as the crashed to the ground. All six bottles of the pyramid had either rolled off or fallen to their sides.

Rin smiled confidently even under the shocking stare of the booth manager and the pure evil gaze sent by Gakupo. "Can I get that white bunny?" she asked the manager. After he had handed it to her, the girl turned to her date and held it out to him.

He forcibly pushed the toy away with his hand, still glaring at Rin with pure hate. "I have no need for toys.. or games," he said harshly.

"Hey. What is your problem?" she replied, sending a glare back. "I won this for you. Take it."

Reluctantly, the purple-haired male had taken it, but instead of holding it close like Rin had expected, he threw the poor rabbit into the nearest trash can before walking away.

She stared wide-eyed at the sight in disbelief. Her first instinct was to run to the trash can, saving the poor rabbit. Rin clutched it close to her heart, staring into its little button eyes. She was heartbroken. Then a tiny tear rolled off her cheek and onto the stuffed animal… For the second time today, she ran with tears in her eyes.

Len was absolutely disgusted. His poor jeans had been vandalized by vomit, and he had worked painstakingly with paper towels and water in a rundown boy's bathroom. Needless to say, it now looked as though he had wet his pants, but at least, the chunks of what appeared to be bread were gone. He furiously washed his hands, grieving about the lack of soap.

He heard the sound of the door opening and the tapping of footsteps as a familiar face appeared in the dirty mirror. Len swiveled around and asked aloud, "Where is my sister?"

Gakupo turned his head slightly as he opened up a stall door. He simply made a noise like, "Hmph," before entering.

Len had opened the entrance to the restroom and peered out. He saw no evidence of Rin which made him angry. He was her protector, and with her not being close by, Len felt as though he had failed at that. The brother stomped back inside and practically wrenched the stall door open. Through closed eyes, he almost shouted, "Where is Rin?!"

A winding kick landed in his stomach, knocking him onto the dirty floor with his breath gone. He looked up at the purple-haired male, who had zipped up his pants by this time. "Try that again, child, and see what happens."

Len grabbed the other's ankle, surprising him and causing him to slip on the floor. In that time, the blond had jumped onto the taller male and begun pounding with his fists. "Where is sh-?!"

A hard punch aimed for his jaw in an uppercut, sending him back onto the floor again. Blood began seeping from his mouth, but Len would not give up. He had tackled Gakupo back onto the floor, punching the other's nose in rage. Gakupo punched his cheek back, rolling out from under Len.

The purple-haired boy instantly reached for his nose. A cool liquid ran onto his fingers as blood began pouring. He growled, clenching his jaw before yelling, "You little twat!" he yelled before kicking at the fallen blond.

Len was not as weak as Gakupo had expected, however. Though he did let out a pained gasp at the kick, Len punched the other's exposed shin. At Gakupo's yelp, Len scrambled up quickly, ramming his body into the other's.

The purple-haired man fell backwards, landing sprawled upon the toilet seat. Looking up at the sheer amount of rage in the blue eyes of Len, he knew that he would never give up. "Alright," he called up with a groan. "Your sister's at the booth with the bottles and the baseballs if I remember correctly."

"If you remember correctly?!… You better hope that she's there. Otherwise, I'm going to have to break something else besides your pretty nose," Len replied, spitting out the remnants of blood from his mouth before walking out and slamming the door.

Rin had desperately tried to stop her tears as she leaned against a dark blue tent, but instead, it just made her sobs more audible. She felt hated and alone. Her friends had left her. Her date had left her, and even, Len had left her alone. The girl held the rabbit close to her aching heart in a desperate hug, longing for at least someone real to be there.

"Aren't I good enough?"

Rin opened her eyes widely, looking for the source of the voice.

"I'm right here, in your arms."

She looked down with a gasp to see the rabbit plush staring right at her. Its stitched mouth had come undone, exposing little plushie teeth and a red mouth. Rin wanted to throw it right then and there, but she couldn't do it to something so cute as a rabbit.

"Don't be scared, Rin. I'm here to make you happy!"

"W-why?"

"Because you're sad, silly. No one wanted to play with you, but I do. Let's play hide-and-seek!" The rabbit had slipped out of her grasp, landing onto the green grass on its little feet. "Remember, no peeking!" The plush wagged its paw warningly.

Not wanting to make the rabbit angry, Rin began counting, "One… Two… Three…"

She could hear the toy moving as it scurried away. She heard the movement of fabric and opened an eye questionably. Rin closed it quickly and continued her counting. "Four.. Five… Six… Seven… Eight…"

The toy giggled in response.

"Nine… Ten! Here I come, Bunny!" she called, wondering whether to run away then and there. Instead, the girl decided to actually seek the rabbit. Rin opened the flap of the dark blue tent and walked inside. It was very dark for some reason with only a few candles as a source of light. "Bunny..?" she called aloud. Then Rin realized that there was sickeningly sweet scent in the air. The more she smelled it, the more light headed she became. "W-where are…. you?" she choked.

"Here," a voice called before she fell into unconscious.

Len rushed through the crowd, not caring how many times he elbowed someone. He was determined to find that booth and find his sister. He still felt guilty from earlier today, and her getting lost would just top it all off. She probably thought that he hated her. Len loved his sister to the very core.

While thinking about Rin, he had accidentally run into someone. The long turquoise pigtails instantly alerted to the person being Miku. Instead of being mad, she just laughed and asked, "Where are you going in such a hurry, Len?"

"Are you two alright?" Luka asked, approaching the two fallen with two sticks of cotton candy in each hand.

"I'm fine," Len grunted, pulling himself up. He was pulled back down again after Miku clutched his hand.

She stared up at him worriedly. "Len, something's wrong. Tell us, please."

"I c-can't find her," he choked out.

"Who?"

"Rin."


	3. Chapter 3: Bad Apples

Miku and Luka had been shocked at first, but their attention had quickly changed to the blood stains and bruises. The two girls were instantly worried and trying to find a doctor, but Len had shook it off and told them that he was alright. Rin was more important. The girls had reluctantly nodded before splitting up to find her. Miku had went north, and Luka had went east. Len continued south down the line of booths.

Len kicked himself internally like he kicked a can down the dirt path. He was so mad with himself. He had let his beloved sister go with such a jerk. _What kind of brother am I? Rin didn't deserve that…_ That purple-haired jerk had left her somewhere. Rin had probably cried. She hated to be alone. She was scared, and it was all his fault.

Len couldn't take it anymore. The clinging sound of the can reminded him of a judge's mallet. He crushed it with his foot and clenched his jaw.

Memories flooded his mind, all depicting a little blond girl smiling. Then they broke like shards of glass. Len slumped down upon the ground, feeling hopeless and useless. He had let her go. Why didn't he go with her? Rin needed him..

Len jolted awake. Rin still needed him, and he wasn't helping her by sitting back and moping. The brother sprang upwards onto his feet and continued walking down with renewed energy. He looked left and right constantly. Still, no Rin. He began to fret at each second she wasn't there. Len chewed on his lip, and each turn and step was more frantic than the last.

_Crunch_.

He had stepped on something. It had made a sickening sound, and when he removed his foot, he only saw yellow fragments and sparkling glitter… Wait. He recognized these pieces of plastic. Len had seen them before. He instantly grabbed the pieces and held them up to his blue eyes. _Rin's hairclip._

_She was somewhere nearby. She had to be. This hairclip proved it._

Rin stirred from her slumber, moving her hands across the velvet cushions and groaning. She pulled herself up strenuously and blinked. "L-Len?" she called sleepily.

"There is no one by that name here," a voice answered.

Rin bolted awake, gasping. She turned her head rapidly, trying to find the source of the voice. Her fist clutched one of the pillows as if to use it as a weapon.

The voice laughed heartily with its face having smirked. "I'm right behind you, silly."

She turned quickly behind and sighed of relief. The face behind her wasn't a scary clown or Freddy Krueger. Though, it was odd to say the least. A porcelain mask like a woman's face made her shrink back a bit. It was shaped much like the comedy and tragedy masks with one side of the geisha's face being comedy and the other, tragedy.

The mask, suspended upon a thin neck, was brought into view with the rest of the body. A rather tall, masculine frame was adorned by a tuxedo of black. A shimmering blue cape had been thrown over one shoulder, matching the bits of hair that stuck out from underneath the top hat. He reminded her of a magician by the way he dressed.

Judging the interior of wherever she was, the man probably was. Hung on the silk-like walls were tapestries and various paintings. Plants with intertwining vines lined the walls in their Greek pots. Several books were strewn upon the rugged floor in various stages of reading. A single couch and leather chair were the only furniture that could fit in the rather small room. Rin was currently on the couch in an upright and uncomfortable position. The magician had sat in the chair, crossing the gloved fingers under his chin.

"W-who are you?" she dared to ask.

A single piece of paper was thrown at her. It flopped in the air, resting on the floor in front of her. She picked it up and recognized it as some sort of card. It had pretty little designs on it, including a little fool's cap. "Jo-ker," she read.

"That's my card and my name," he said monotonously.

"Joker? That's a funny name."

"Well, you could say that I'm a funny person. Now, what's yours?"

"My name is Rin," she said quietly, fidgeting with her fingers and avoiding the gaze of the mask.

"That's like the sound a bell makes. Charming name, Rin.."

This man made her uncomfortable. He peered at her intently, and the frown and smile of the mask was incredibly creepy and confusing. "I-I really need to go," she said suddenly, getting up from the couch to run as fast as she possibly could. However, she felt her hand being squeezed gently.

"Please.. Stay with me a little bit longer… I'm lonely…"

Rin looked into those eyeholes with uncertainty. However, the tragedy seemed to outweigh the comedy. He really must have been lonely in this tent.. "Okay," she finally said, chewing on her lower lip. "What do you want to do?"

He smirked underneath the mask and released his grip on her wrist. Spreading his fingers wide, he made sure that she could see them. The Joker waved his hands, and between each finger, a single card appeared. Eight cards in total.

Rin's mouth awed at the sight of the card trick. She had instantly sat back down on the couch, determined to see what would happen next. The girl thought of how he had done it, furrowing her eyebrows.

The Joker laughed suddenly as if reading her mind. "I can't tell you my tricks. What's the fun in that? … Rin, do you believe in destiny?"

"Huh?" It was an odd question to pop out of the blue. She couldn't even remember the last time anyone had asked her that. The girl fumbled with her words. What was the answer? "Umm… Sometimes?"

"Sometimes? Well, that's funny. Rin, I want to play a card game with you. It'll be fun; I promise." The Joker placed shuffled the cards to where she couldn't see them. He then displayed their ornately decorated backs to her. "Which card is yours?"

Sweat perspired all over Len's thin frame. He was running hard. His neck cringed with pain from how much he had twisted it. There was no Rin, and pretty soon, Len had reached a dead end. The dirt path had stretched for at least two miles before ending up at a wrought iron fence. He had lost sight of people and was now incredibly frustrated with himself. The boy sat on the ground, breathing heavily.

"W-where…. is … she?"

He had run into thousands of all shapes and sizes. There was a punk, a maid, and even an Elvis Presley impersonator. There was no girl with short blond hair wearing an orange dress, just people he had never met before. Maybe, Miku or Luka had found her. They were good, smart girls. Surely, they had contacted law enforcement, and now, the carnival was flooded with searches. They would find her.

… What was he thinking? He couldn't let someone else find her. It may have been considered selfish, but Len wanted to be the one to find Rin. The brother wanted the right to say that he had found his little sister to everyone. He had saved her from some strange pedophile or murderer.

That was selfish. Len should want to find her just to find her not for the glory. He should just have wanted her safe and sound. What if some child molester had gotten to her by now? It was twenty minutes, and she was still gone. During the first forty-eight hours was the best time to catch a criminal. Len had learned that from those dramatic crime shows his mother always watched. After that window of time, it was almost impossible. That window was getting shorter and shorter every second. Time was a bitch.

He had regained some stamina but not nearly enough. The boy began running yet again much to the dismay of his aching calves back up the path to try and see if she was in one of the tents he had passed.

Rin hadn't realized what she was doing. She was just playing along with the Joker. His cards were mesmerizing with their elaborate gold designs on a red background. They seemed to call out to her, one card in particular. She closed her eyes, reached forward, and plucked a card from the set of eight. Rin slowly opened her eyes.

The scene depicted on the card was rather dark and mysterious. A winding tower of black brick towered upwards and overshadowed the moon. A single black dot seemed to be spiraling downward from it towards the dark green hillside around it.

Just when she had gotten a hard look, it had been taken from her by the Joker. He looked at it blankly. It was hard to tell what went on underneath a mask. "Oh… I see.."

She shifted closer to him in her seat, trying to decipher whether this choice was good or bad.

"This is a good thing, Rin!"

"I-it is?"

"Yes, of course! It all makes perfect sense!" The Joker stood, waving his arms and talking to himself apparently. He had walked around the entire tent with Rin turning to watch what he was doing. "The Tower! The Tower! Oh! The Tower!" he cried like an ecstatic preacher. He sauntered up behind Rin now, looking down at her worried eyes with his mask of mixed expression.

The girl was now incredibly scared of this man. She reached for the nearest object, a pillow and thrust it at him. Rin began running towards the exit, not pausing to look back, but the sister had run into something hard. She fell backwards onto the ground, rubbing her head which now ached painfully.

"Now, Rin, that wasn't fun. That wasn't fun at all, trying to leave during my speech." He stepped forward when she began crawling backwards, reaching for items to throw at him. The Joker seemed unaffected by the sturdiest pots. However, he had cried, "Why must they all break the furniture?" He stood over her like a cat to a mouse when she had crawled into a corner. The Joker stooped down close to her and said, "You wanted to play, but you cheated.." The man raised his hand and hit her once across the head. He smiled when she fell onto the floor unconscious.

He had by this point reached where he had been before. Len had asked around for a girl with blond hair and an orange dress, but no one seemed to have seen her. He had checked a few tents so far, coming across an estranged fortune teller and even two teenagers having intercourse. Len had run out immediately from that with his face turning a bright shade of red.

After some distance, he boy noticed something odd in the road ahead. Reaching down, he plucked a blue ribbon from the ground. It felt silkily smooth and reminded him of those bows girls put in their hair.

Len looked around and spotted a dark blue tent on a lone hill. He frowned for some reason. It made him feel creepily discontent and even angry. The brother knew that that would be the most likely place to find his sister. Pedophiles often chose the creepiest places after all to do their horrific deeds. He began marching up the hill to the tent with a fierce glare. Then Len ripped open the flap.

Someone wearing black and blue was leaning over a couch, staring at something. The figure stood and turned around. What appeared to be a man cocked its head to the side painfully to stare at Len with a face reminiscent of utter evil, but the boy didn't pay much attention to the person.

The brother's heart had stopped. For behind the man rested the body of his beloved sister. Rin looked to be in a uncomfortable position of sleep with her mouth agape. Her limbs were strewn about. But what was most startling was her wide eyes. They were purely white, no pupil and no color whatsoever.

Len roared with rage and horror, rushing past the man with his elbow shoving itself into the other's chest. He bent over the couch, clutching that horrified face with his hands. "Rin! Rin! Wake up!" he screamed, practically shaking her ferociously.

A loud uproar of laughter shook the air, making Len's blood turn cold. He turned shakily towards the man behind him. The Joker stared back with the black covered eye sockets of the mask. Len's whole body exerted itself into one punch, aimed for the man who had dared to laugh at his sister when she was in such a state. Unfortunately, his fist was caught in the palm of the Joker's. Len cried out in pain as his hand was squeezed. He could hear the bones cracking and felt searing jolts shoot up his arm. Then he was knocked backwards on the floor.

Before Len could even react, his throat was being crushed under the force of a foot. The boy gagged, feeling the heat rise to his face. His eyes felt as though they were going to pop out of their sockets as they stared hatefully up at the man killing him. Len even had the audacity to slowly raise a middle finger.

That laugh shook the tent again. "I like your attitude."

Then the foot stepped a little harder as the Joker said with more malice, "Now, it's time to play a new game."


	4. Chapter 4: Life is but a Dream

The Joker removed his foot from Len's throat, allowing the blond to take a huge gulp of air. He laid there panting. The heat slowly retreated from his face. The pressure began to release from the constriction of his throat. All the while, Len glared up at the figure. He raised his fist at last to swing at the man, even if it was aching horribly from the last treatment.

However, the figure had raised his own hand with an open palm. Then he waved his index finger in a scolding manner. "Now, now. Do you really want to end up like that girl over there?"

"_That girl_ is my sister," Len said with as much hatred as he could possibly put in his voice.

The man stood there for a moment, contemplating as he looked back and forth between Len and Rin. Finally, he muttered, "You're twins…." Raising his voice to a level where Len could actually hear it, he announced, "Well, that puts a dent in things… Or does it..?"

Len had not liked to feel intimidated and had moved over beside Rin. He stroked her face tenderly and stared heartfelt at the zombie-like expression. He could feel the other man's eyes boring into his back like Len was some sort of experiment. Suddenly, the boy was forcibly turned around by his shoulders to find himself staring into the eyeholes of the mask. Even through the synthetic fabric, Len could tell that whoever this was had blue eyes. Though he struggled in his grasp, the boy could not escape, feeling the hot breath on his nose as the person leaned in closer.

After some time, the man released Len in a quick motion. ".. You'll do."

"Do what? It should be you doing something! What did you do to her, you bastard?!"

The masked man sighed, pressing two fingers to his temples. "First off, my name is not 'bastard'. It's Joker. J-O-K-E-R. Second, I didn't do anything she didn't want."

Len retaliated to his statement sarcastically. "Well, Jo-ker, I'm pretty sure Rin just _loves_ being a mindless corpse! Thank you for making her dearest wishes come true! Are you going to take us to Disneyland now?"

The Joker smirked and replied, "Actually, that sounds like a fun idea. But instead of Disneyland, I'm going to take you somewhere else.."

Len froze at that. Whatever this Joker was talking about was obviously something that he shouldn't follow. He took hold of his sister's hand, ready to flee and drag her body out the flap at the slightest bit of movement.

But the Joker was too quick. He had captured Len by his free wrist and closed his hand around some sort of object. Then the smooth porcelain was briefly pulled back. Something soft and luscious pressed against Len's mouth.

The boy struggled and protested, but a sudden, new sensation swept him. Len felt his body go limp as gravity took over. He felt himself falling. The world above rapidly faded as the surrounding darkness engulfed him. All he could see was black.

What he heard, however, was different. People were talking, mumbling something that he couldn't quite understand, and then his head hit pavement.

When his eyes opened, they saw a bright blue sky with fluffy clouds dotting throughout. The next thing they saw were Len's hands, shielding them from the sheer brightness.

Len felt searing pain in the back of his head. When he felt it, his fingers were sticky with drying blood. The boy moaned as he attempted to stand shakily. He tripped and found himself clutching a tree.. Wait. This didn't look like a tree. It was far too thin, smooth, and white. There were no leaves around his feet, and when he looked upward, it had widened into a circular object of bright colors.. The tree was a lollipop. When he looked around, more lollipop trees.

Everywhere he looked was bright and colorful. The grass was a brighter, more lime green shade than usual. The air smelt sickeningly sweet like being in a candy factory. All of the different flavors combated with his nose and left a variety of tastes on his tongue. A small rabbit actually hopped up to Len, nuzzled his leg, and hopped off. Sugar-coated flowers dotted the entire landscape of what appeared to be a meadow. Beneath his feet was the only sign of harshness, a cobblestone path, but even it had flower designs cut into each stone.

Then realization flooded him. Where were the vases and the couch? Where was Rin's lifeless body? Where was the Joker and his taunting voice? There was nothing real in this landscape. Everything looked like it came from a picture book. The only thing that had a sense of reality was the cobblestone. That was what he followed.

Len did not stray from that path of reality. He refused to get lost in such a carefree world. He wanted both the chaos and the order. The boy didn't want to be sheltered. It was one of the things that made him so different from Rin. Len knew how harsh the world could be, but Rin had been kept away from the evil. She didn't need to see it. If Len could have helped it, his sister would remain innocent for the rest of her years, just like this land before him.

"Poor, poor, little boy. You don't even know where you are."

Len twisted his head around, trying to find where the sound was coming from. "Joker!" he yelled aloud, "Where are you?!"

"Yes? Oh. Where am I? Well, currently, I'm in my little tent, running my fingers through your sister's hair and waiting for the police to arrive."

Len squeezed his fists, digging his nails into his palms, and clenched his teeth. "ASSHOLE!"

"My, my. Such words for a fifteen year old. Do I have to come down there and wash your pretty little mouth with soap, Fool?" the Joker sneered.

"Actually, it would make my day for you to come down so I can show you a thing or two! I'm not the fool. You are!"

"You are so ignorant. I'm not the Fool. I'm the Joker. Remember? Look at the card in your pocket."

Len did as he was bid with curiosity. Though, he was cautious. The Joker might have put something like a snake in there. As he reached down inside, he could only feel on slim object. The bastard took his wallet. He pulled out the slim rectangle and stared at it. Sure enough, the word 'Fool' was printed on the front in a strange cursive writing. It even showed a picture of a figure with a blank face, wearing a jester's attire.

Suddenly, the blank spot in the card began shifting, forming a nose and a chin.. Soon, a boy's painted face stared back at him, his own.

The Joker laughed heartily all of a sudden as though he was about to go into tears.

"What's so funny?!"

"That outfit… Suits you.. So well…" Then he couldn't contain himself any longer and continued laughing.

"What are you talking ab-?" Len stopped in his sentence, looking down at his shoes. The black and white converse weren't there anymore. Instead, odd checkered slippers were there with little bells on the toes. His jeans had been replaced with alternating black and white tights and balloon pants. His torso was decorated with the same check pattern, along with the silk sleeves. Red puffs of lace decorated his neck and his wrists. To top it all off, a fool's had had been placed on his head of red, black, and white checks like the rest of his outfit.

Len blushed furiously and growled as he tried to forcibly remove the hat, but for some reason, it didn't budge no matter how hard he pulled.

"You don't even see the best part!" the Joker jeered. "Look in that pond!"

Len stomped towards the water and bent forward to get a better look. His reflection proved the description of the card right. The worst part was the fact that Len's face had been painted over with white, red lipstick and eye shadow, and black eyeliner. "I… look like… a woman," he muttered solemnly.

Then he raised his fists and waved them to the sky to get the Joker's attention. "I'LL KILL YOU WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE, YOU BASTARD!"

"If you get out of here."

"Huh?"

"Oh yeah. I should probably explain where you are." He cleared his throat before continuing. "The place where you are is an imaginary land, created by your sister's most treasured wishes."

"I speak English. Speak it."

The Joker rolled his eyes in the real world and continued, "You're in her dreams, Fool. The only way to get out is to wake her up."

"And how can I wake her up if I'm apart of her dream?"

"Well, that would be where I come in. You see, I kind of… stolen her soul."

"Excuse me..?"

Len suddenly heard more voices, yelling. The Joker had gotten quiet as he whispered, "I'll explain later.. Just find her soul in three days.. Otherwise, you'll be mine." Then it went silent.

Len felt very alone all of a sudden. The Joker's words had left him puzzled and annoyed. He hadn't explained why Len was wearing a jester's outfit of all things. He felt ridiculously stupid and missed his regular clothes. Sure, the boy had wanted to stand out a little more, but a medieval idiot's attire was not something he had in mind.

He stared at the card for some time, moving it around in his hands. The image stayed the same each time, and his 'portrait' didn't seem to have a clue where to find a soul either.

Len felt as though that the best option would to continue down 'The Path of Reality' as he called it. At least, it was comfortable. The eye blinding colors of the lollipop trees and candy grass just didn't quite make him feel good as much as it did Rin. Plus, the smells were starting to irritate his nose.

It felt as thought it had been an hour of traveling down that road. He had no recognition of the time besides the sun. His watch had disappeared with the rest of his clothes. All he had seen were rabbits, flowers, and grass. He became increasingly annoyed by the stupid bells attached to him. Every movement Len made would produce a jingle sound.

At long last, he spied the first sign of civilization. A colorful sign had been placed along side the path with arrows pointing north and south. The south arrow read, "PEACEFUL MEADOWS." The north arrow read, "SUGARVILLE." Len slapped a hand to his forehead and said, "Really, Rin. Peaceful Meadows and Sugarville?" Even with the cute names, the boy continued onward.

Pretty soon, a town had appeared before him. Little houses lined the cobblestone path with bright rooftops that reminded Len of gumdrops. Their walls seemed to be made of chocolate slabs, and he felt an increasing suspicion that he was Hansel with Rin as Gretel being missing.

Every person he passed dressed and acted odd. They wore clothes of what looking to be from the Victorian era but in all colors of the rainbow. Whenever they saw him, they shrank back a bit and began talking in whispers amongst themselves.

"The Leek princess…."

"She'll have his head!"

_Leek princess? Why would anyone want to be a princess of leeks of all things?_ he thought as he continued walking.

_Boing!_

A ball had bounced forward and into Len's path. He stooped forward and offered it to a couple of boys who had been playing with it. For some reason, they just stared at him frightened.

"Don't you want your ball back..?" Len asked, holding it out to one.

"Keep it!"

"But it's yours.."

"I don't want something that's been touched by a card!"

"But I'm not a card.." Too late. The boys had already run off, leaving Len standing alone with the ball in his palms. He frowned, wondering what they had meant by him being a 'card' of all things.

Len had not had anything to eat or drink since the macaroni and cheese dinner, and after running so much, he had begun to feel the toll of hunger and thirst. He had no money on him and didn't even want to know what sort of currency Rin's dreams produced, but his stomach and throat protested for him to find out.

Sighing, Len approached the nearest place that would hold food, a tavern. He stared at the chocolate door for quite some time. Surely, they wouldn't miss at least one candy morsel. They had plenty more in this land after all. He stuck his tongue out and slowly pressed it to the door. It tasted like a Hershey's bar, delicious. Len continued to lick the door until it had gone soft. Then with his fingers, he carefully peeled back the bit of candy and stuck it inside his mouth. Swallowing and licking the chocolate from around his mouth, he spat at the taste of the makeup. _Nasty.._ Looking around like a criminal, Len saw no one and repeated the process. Closing his eyes, he stuck his tongue out yet again.

Unfortunately, Len did not realize that the door had opened from the inside. Instead of tasting sweet chocolate, Len was tasting cloth and sweat. The boy choked and instantly opened his eyes. He looked upwards into the angry eyes of an overweight, mustached man. Smiling sheepishly, Len found himself being pushed onto the ground.

"What the hell are you doing?!" the man cried.

"What's wrong, Tom?" another villager asked, coming out from behind a neighboring house.

"This Fool just tried to eat my door!"

"That's a first class offense! Guard! Guard!"

People began screaming, "Guard!" over and over. Len's eyes darted back and forth. He leapt to his feet and began running as fast as his legs could carry him. The uproar and thundering footsteps of angry villagers rang behind him.

Suddenly, Len felt himself being lifted into the air and thrown. His back slammed into something hard as the slam of a door was heard. He looked around and found himself being caged by candy canes of all things. The boy crawled towards the door, clutching the bars and looking out. The cage was being propelled forward on a candy wagon. Instead of it being drawn by horses, large rabbits were hooked to the reins. A person dressed in green armor straddled each rabbit, holding dangerously pointed lances that they had apparently used to pick him up and thrown him by.

"Let me out!" Len screamed, banging his fists against the candy canes.

"Not until the princess judges you, Fool!" the guard cried back.

Len slumped onto the cage floor with his hands covering his face. It may have been Rin's dream, but this place was Len's nightmare.


	5. Chapter 5: The Princess of Leeks

Sorry about it taking so long and for this chapter being so short. A lot of things have been happening lately, and I keep forgetting to update. Please forgive me. x_X

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He had curled up with his face buried into his knees. Len solemnly traced his fingers up and down the candy cane bars absent mindedly. He couldn't deny that he was in quite the position of loneliness. His friends, gone. His sister, gone. The Joker, gone. Len felt as though his heart was empty. All of the people that he had ever loved were now gone. All thanks to the Joker.

What was that deceitful man's purpose? He had stolen his sister's soul and hidden it away somewhere in her dreams. He hadn't even had the decency to close her eyes after they had become empty. She had looked so terrified, lying there on the couch, with her mouth agape and her eyes widened. It had surely either broke or made a large crack in Len's heart. That sight was just so miserable. How could Rin dream so sweetly while looking like that? The Joker was taunting him, and he was doing a pretty good job at it.

The day had turned into night. Already, one of the three days had been wasted. He needed to find her soul, wherever it rested, but it was impossible to do that trapped in a cage. Len listened to the steady beat of the rabbit's hops as they passed over what appeared to be the same landscape, sugar grass and lollipop trees.

At least, the sky was the same. Len stared up at the dark blue and black stretch with its pale white stars. His gaze changed to the glowing orb of the moon. He nearly lost his balance at what he saw. The moon had a face in it. It was a girl's face with long gray hair and large red eyes. Len also noticed that the girl in the moon had a ribbon in her hair and large breasts. She seemed to be smiling softly at him, but her eyes were filled with loneliness. He frowned and nodded as if she could see him. Surprisingly, the woman in the moon nodded back.

Suddenly, the carriage jolted forward, slamming Len against the hard bars. He twisted uncomfortably and groaned. Then the smell of the sugared grass swept his nose as his face slammed into the ground. The armored man had his foot in the middle of his back, pressing hard upon it. Then it was removed. However, Len soon found his body being dragged by his wrists over the cobblestone pavement. He yelled aloud at the guards, kicking wildly as his back scraped against the stone. The carriage soon left his vision as he was dragged towards the looming building of dark stone.

The cobblestone had become wood as his body bounced against a rough drawbridge. He could see it being lifted upwards when they had passed, sealing him off inside these grounds. They had passed hedges of black and red roses and tulips. Ornate statues of leeks towered upwards. There had even been a fountain of leeks, with water dripping out of their stems. Even the archways were shaped like leeks, reaching up to touch each other. All he could see was black, red and gray. Each shift of movement would leave raw tears in his skin, but he would not allow himself to scream for Rin's sake. However, Len could not help but let a few watery tears escape as he bit harshly on his lip.

Finally, sanctity. Large oak doors had opened up, and instead of harsh stone, his back was now dragged across tiled floor. Spots of red blood had been left upon the pale green and white floor, but they were quickly scrubbed off by awaiting maids. Just as he thought the pain was all but gone, Len was then pulled upon a white marble staircase. He tried to focus on something other than his aching back, staring up at the ornate designs on the ceiling instead. Golden leeks and swirls, carved in the ceiling. Another closing of doors.

Len was too tired and hurt to try to run away. The guards had left him, panting upon the marble tiles. They had left with the closing of the blackened oak doors. He laid there for a few minutes and rolled upon his stomach. The air stung the scratches and scrapes upon his back.

"How do you feel, Fool?" a familiar voice announced.

Exhilaration seeped through him as he stood up quickly, almost falling over in his haste. He stumbled forward, racing across the tile with a grin across his face.

"Miku!" Len screamed as he neared her.

Lances crossed his path, forming an X that separated him and the girl. Two guards had stepped out from behind the silver throne.

Her expression had not changed. It was rather harsh and hollow. This wasn't the Miku he remembered. It had her body and her face, but it just wasn't Miku. She was dressed in a flowing laced gown of white with a high collar around her neck. Silver jewelry graced her neck and ears. A silver crown had been adorned on top of her pigtailed head. The outfit reminded Len of a gray and white version of Queen Elizabeth's gown. However, her face was even more surprising. It was painted like a geisha's. Red paint surrounded her lips and eyes on a field of white. On her cheeks, green crosses had been painted. The blueish eyes glared at Len harshly.

"Who are you?" she questioned. Her voice was like icy daggers, stabbing Len in his chest.

"It's… me… Len," he gasped, reaching an arm towards her.

"I don't know a 'Len'. All I see is a Fool. Are you here to entertain me, or should I have my guards decapitate and devour you?"

Len's eyes widened, and his mouth hung agape. This definitely wasn't the Miku he knew. Miku was sweet and friendly. This Miku was harsh and icy, evil.

"My patience is fleeting, Fool. Perform or die."

The guards had begun inching towards him with their lance points aiming for his neck. Len faltered back, sweating profusely. What was going on in this strange, candy world?

"Kill him," she said monotonously.

Len wasn't ready to die. If he died, Rin's chances of living were gone as well. He fell onto the ground and raised his hands to at least cover his eyes. They said that you could still see for two minutes after you were decapitated. He heard the clang of metal as the lances fell.

A minute passed. He blinked, looking upwards and raising his eyebrows. "J-Joker?" he said aloud, recognizing the blue clad figure above his body. His gloved hands pressed the lances together, keeping the weapons at bay and from hurting Len. The porcelain mask turned towards him, and Len could see the man wink at him.

"Guards… Pull back," Miku said between clenched teeth. Her voice seemed to be filled with anger as she glared hatefully at the Joker. "What are you doing here? This is my castle."

The man had let the guards pull back their lances and stand beside their boiling with anger queen.

"You see, princess. This is about to be my world. I can't have you harming my little champion. Now can I?" The Joker motioned towards Len with his hands as he said that. The boy protested painfully as the man lifted him up over his back. Feeling the dried clumps of blood, the man frowned as he began to walk off with his prize.

"Not if I can help it. Guards, kill them both. Rip off that tedious armor if you want."

Len watched as the guards dropped their weapons for a moment. Turning to each other, they threw off their helmets and turned back towards Len. The guards weren't what he had expected. Instead of human faces, he saw twisted versions of bunny rabbits of all things. Their mouths horizontally wide and reminded him of a shark's, filled with rows of sharp fangs. Their ears were like horns, twisting and curling. Their fur was patched and white, exposing dark skin. Soon, more armor fell off, revealing twisted and bulging muscles and claws. They pulled up their weapons, wearing twisted grins as their faces twisted and contorted painfully.

"J-J-Joker!" Len screamed, digging his nails into the blue cape.

More and more beastly nightmarish rabbits began swarming in, and the Joker still continued to walk calmly. They began running towards the two as the Joker sighed. Placing Len on the ground, the man turned towards the horde of nightmarish rabbits. He raised his hands high into the air and yelled out to the princess, "Princess of the Leek, you have finally caught the elusive Joker! Congratulate yourself. I clap for your amazing ingenuity." He clapped loudly under the princess's harsh glare.

The beasts had stopped momentarily, waiting for the final order from their queen. Then they leapt forward at her cry. "Kill him!"

From then on, everything was in slow motion. He could see the monsters leaping at the Joker with claws raised to tear him limb from limb. He looked up at the masked man, and for some reason, Len got the impression that he was smiling. The cape began slipping from his shoulders as time seemed to catch up with them all again.

A bright flash of blue erupted from underneath the Joker's coat. Millions of rectangular objects shot at the rabbits. Blood showered Len's face as a rabbit's head flew towards him with its mouth agape and eyes wide. That was when the boy fainted.

He found himself staring back up at the night sky. The girl in the moon seemed to wave at him. The emotion in her face reminded him of relief. Len realized quickly that something was lacking. He could no longer feel the aching in his back. However, he still felt the emotional and mental trauma of what had occurred. Len could no longer see the castle, and all he could see was the expansion of green grass as he rolled over.

"Joker." He called out the name with an accusing yet somewhat worried tone of voice, contradictory. Accusing because of this whole thing being his fault. Worried, he did not know.

He felt a sudden touch of cloth on his lips as he found himself staring at the porcelain mask. The Joker had pressed a finger to Len's lips in order to quiet him. The man's hot breath rained upon Len's nose, and sweat dripped from the boy's own forehead. Slowly, the finger was removed, and the Joker removed himself from atop Len's body.

With his face flushed, the blond shouted at the Joker. "What the hell was that?!"

The man was suddenly pressed back on top of the young boy, leaning in as close as before. He could now see the man's eyes from behind the mask. A heated red. Weren't they blue before?

"I'll have you know that I just _saved_ your ass. I wouldn't question my methods, considering those lagomorphs were wanting to decapitate and devour you."

Len couldn't question that. He gulped, wishing that the Joker would get off of him. For one thing, it was awkward, and for another, the man was kind of heavy on Len's skinny body. Plus, the Joker was beginning to creep him out more than usual. He wasn't usually that serious.

"If it makes you feel any better, your sister's safe. Some pink-haired chick brought the cops, and they stormed my tent. But I managed to get your sister out in time."

"…That was Luka."

"Who's Luka?"

"She's a friend of my sister."

"…. I should be going."

Len looked at the Joker with a wide eyes. He had even gone so far as to suddenly squeeze the other man's hand. The Joker had looked back and laughed suddenly.

"Oh, Len. You don't even know a thing.."

It was at that instant that Len's body was released from the pressure of the other man. It was as though the Joker had faded into thin air. His hands reached for the spot left behind by the man, feeling loneliness sink in. However, there was something resting upon his chest. He plucked it and stared at the object.

It was a card, much like the one he owned currently. However, the words and picture were different. He could see the figure of a woman in a white and gray gown. Princess Miku. The words underneath read, 'The Monarch.' He turned it over in his fingers before slipping the card into his costume.

Len stood upon the grass, not knowing where to go next. He decided to just head upon the cobblestone path like he had been.

_On my own again…_


	6. Chapter 6: Rain

I'm sorry again about posting this update so late. My schedule is just really hectic right now. I've mostly been practicing for an upcoming play. And the time that I do have, I am either spending with my friends or working on something that is due in a month or so. X_x I'm trying, honestly, but it's hard.

* * *

Len had not stopped running that entire morning. His calves burned. His breaths felt hot and took much of his effort just to let them escape in deep pants. It had only been the second day spent in this crazy world. Len couldn't stop. If he stopped, he felt as though Rin's heart would as well. Had it already stopped because of the Joker? Well, the brother was determined to make it start again for his sister's sake. Len didn't care if he made it out of this candied world alive as long as Rin was living again. There was no stopping with her life fleeting from his hands.

The cobblestone path had not stopped either. It had kept swerving through towns, all made of candy and all filled with hate. The people seemed to spit at his very presence. They all cursed about a 'card'.

But what exactly did they mean by a 'card'? The Joker hadn't explained that.. All Len knew was that he was dressed like a Fool, like the card in his pocket with the Queen close by… Wait. Hadn't Miku been dressed like the Queen card? Maybe, Miku had been a card too. But what was a card? Len had always thought of it as a piece of paper with drawings on it, but he wasn't exactly a piece of paper.

The sudden thought of the Princess of Leaks made him remember the Joker. The Joker had felt no pressure from those hungry lagomorphs. He had smirked at the Queen's anger, even if his head could possibly have been ripped from his body. The blue-haired man had simply spread his arms… Then the blood came. How could the Joker have done something like that? Len knew he was strong but not that strong… The Joker confounded his mind. That blue devil showed up at the worst of times when needed, not when wanted. Though he regretted thinking this, Len really did wish that someone was by his side, even if it was the very person who had trapped him and his sister.

At last, he couldn't take it anymore. His heart pounded too much. He lay at the base of one of the lollipops, gasping for air and clutching his chest tightly. Sweat dripped down everywhere, especially in such a hot costume. He squinted up at the sun as if staring at it would make it go away.

Surprisingly, it did. The sun seemed to move slightly out of his glare. Len followed it with his eyes. The star moved again. He raised his eyebrow in confusion, cupping his hands over his eyes. Then he saw something he hadn't seen before. Like the moon, the sun had a girl in it as well. However, she didn't have the soft face like the moon. The sun's expression was bitter and grumpy. Harsh yellow eyes matched the yellow ponytail sticking out from the right side and down her back. Her own eyebrows twitched before she lost it.

"Stop staring at me!" the girl in the sun screamed.

Len yelped in surprise, backing up against the stick of the lollipop.

Her expression suddenly changed from anger to surprise. She looked at Len questionably before twirling a piece of her hair and looking down in embarrassment. "You must have heard me… Sorry. Still doesn't excuse you though. Staring is rude."

"S-sorry?"

"Hey. You're kind of cute, but your card is stupid."

Len looked down at his jester's outfit briefly before looking back at the Sun. "What is my card?"

The sun scoffed, "You don't know?! You're a Fool. I'm a Sun. Got it?"

"But what does that mean..?" he asked questionably.

"It means that the Joker got you too. Jerk sent me to find my friend, but I got lost in some sort of alcoholic world.. It was weird.. I do hope she's okay though," the Sun said that last sentence quietly, biting her lip slightly. "HEY! Have you seen a girl with silver hair and red eyes anywhere? That's my friend. Her name's Haku."

Len bit his own lip, knowing who the Sun wanted to but could never see. He dug his foot into the grass in shame before saying quietly, "In the Moon…"

"… What did you say?"

"The Moon."

The Sun slowly realized what that could have possibly meant. They were apart, and they couldn't be together no matter what. Then the sky became dark as the Sun curtained herself with nearby clouds. It then began to rain.

Feeling no point in staying, Len began walking through the droplets, and he could swore that he heard the sound of a girl crying as his feet splashed in the rapidly forming puddles. He had gotten his wish, at least. Deep inside his mind, Len felt the sting that was heart break for the Sun and the burning anger towards the Joker.

---

It hadn't stopped raining for what felt like an hour or so now. Len had felt the Sun's tears run down his cheeks, making the face paint run in clumps. At least, one part of the ridiculous costume was going away. He could also see the blood of the monstrous rabbits run off as if to clean him of their grim demise before his eyes. As he walked, he thought bitterly of the Joker with the rusted jingle of the bells reflecting his mood.

How many people had that blue bastard screwed over? He had stolen Rin's soul, doomed Len to the back of her mind, and apparently did the same thing to two other girls. Plus, he had just killed the Miku look-a-like. The Joker had probably done this thing for how many years. Stealing souls.. What use had he for doing this anyways? Maybe, it was for personal enjoyment. Len had seen the smile that bastard had gave before decapitating an entire room. Then he had left Len alone for whoever or whatever to take and grab.

At last, Len let his boiled anger out. "JOKER!" he screamed, letting it pierce the air and rain. It was like a strangled yelp, full of rage. His fists tightened, and his whole body shuddered in anticipation. "Answer, you god damned bastard!" He glared up at the sky as if that's where he was hiding.

Surprisingly, after a long pause, a sleepy yawn replied, "Mmmh… Yes?"

"Wake up, you twisted whatever!" Len called, raising his fist upwards.

"Oh, Len… You're so amusing.. Mmh.. Found her yet?" the Joker purred.

"I'll show you what's amusing," Len growled, clenching his teeth together.

"Don't make threats you can't keep," came a sudden hiss from behind.

Len felt something sharp pressing against his neck as his head was pulled backwards by the jester's cap. He felt hot breaths against his head even in the chilling rain. His eyes widened as he gulped from fear. The sharp object had now drawn some blood from his neck before Len was pushed onto the ground. When he turned, he could see the Joker sticking his index finger underneath the porcelain mask. Len felt the grasp of fear as he looked at the Joker's hands. Instead of regular fingernails, they had turned into curving, black talons, piercing through his gloves. Len had retreated against the stick of a lollipop. The Joker had followed.

The weight of the other male pressed onto his body. The Joker had pounced, digging the talons into Len's shoulder blades and ripping into his skin. The blond cried out in pain, feeling utterly useless and paralyzed.

"I did you a favor. Don't be rude to me, wretch," the blue-haired man said harshly. Then his voice softened for a moment. "You're scared. Aren't you?"

Len nodded slowly, biting his lip in regret of admitting it.

The Joker paused before muttering, "You have a right to be…" He removed himself off of Len, crouching there and apparently studying the younger intently.

After the Joker had released him, Len's hands had instantly touched the clawed flesh of his back, feeling the stinging pain and wet blood on his fingertips. His hands then pulled themselves up to his eyes. He studied the red blood on his fingertips with trembling fingers. Then his eyes widened yet again at what the Joker had done next.

The older male had pounced forward and swiped one of Len's hands away from him. Pulling the mask away slightly with his other hand, the Joker had exposed his softly formed lips and pointed chin to the blond. With those feminine lips, the Joker had used them to close around one of Len's fingertips. Then the blue-haired man began gently sucking on the finger, wrapping his tongue around it. Then he moved to the next until all of the fingers had gotten the same treatment.

Len was personally too shocked to move, but when the Joker at last let go, Len wrenched his hand quickly away, checking to see if his fingers were still intact. Surprisingly, it was, but the blood had been sucked away, replaced with the Joker's saliva. "W-what did… you do?" Len asked, shuddering from the act.

"I just licked the blood off." the Joker responded as if that was an ordinary thing to do.

"W-why, J-joker?" Len asked with shock clear on his face.

"Because it bothered you." There was a long pause between the two before the Joker continued speaking. "I like you, Len. Call me something else. Joker is what everyone calls me. You're not like everyone… You're not a sniveling little girl, at least. Ungh. I swear. I have played this game at least a hundred times, and all ninety-nine were crying girls," he spat at that. "But I finally got lucky on the hundredth. You've been fun to play with.. Call me Kaito."

"Why Kaito?" Len asked, not knowing how to respond to the other bits of the Joker's speech. It was true. The Joker had broke more than a few hearts in his life time. Poor little girls.. He didn't care at all about what had happened to them. The man truly was a sadist.

"Kaito's the name I was born with. Do you think I've been the Joker forever?" he replied with a laugh.

"What does the Joker do?" Len asked the dreaded question, staring at the porcelain face with an unbroken stare. His heart had begun to race. Len was afraid that the Joker would hurt him again for daring to ask such a question.

After a long pause, Kaito replied, "The Joker's job is to make dreams come true."

Len shook with anger, clenching his teeth yet again. "How is this a dream?! This is a nightmare!"

"Exactly." The Joker had pulled even closer towards Len, pressing against his ear in order to whisper into it. "You have to be careful with what you wish for…" He heard the sound of the mask being moved again. Kaito's soft lips had pressed against Len's cheek in a single kiss. "I have to go now, my little player.. Goodbye."

"Wait!" Len shouted, waving his hands. His hands only struck thin air and rain. The Joker was gone again, leaving Len to give only his own misery as company. However, he couldn't help but feel heat in his face when he touched the place where Kaito had kissed him.

--

For once, the scenery had changed. The lollipop trees had suddenly stopped at one place, becoming actual trees for once. Their greenery was a comfort as well as the fact that the sugary scent had faded from his nostrils. He had begun walking again shortly after the Joker had left. Len had ignored the pain in his heels after walking for hours, not to mention his parched throat and hungry stomach. Surely, there would be something besides candy to eat in this sudden growth of forest, but it was strangely lacking in that department. He heard no sounds of happy birds chirping like before. No rabbits had come across his path like before. This place felt eerily empty.

As if the forest could not have gotten creepier, the branches of the trees had wrapped themselves around pieces of shiny objects. When Len examined them further, he saw that it was glass. His stained face was clearly seen in this mirror as well as the stupid jester's cap. After being thoroughly creeped out, the best solution would have been to turn around, but Len felt himself being pulled closer towards the center of the darkening forest. As he drew closer, the amount of mirrors increased. Len shrank back a bit at the sight, and Len's many reflections did as well.

At last, he had come to a clearing. Orchids and violets littered the grass covered ground. A tall stone arch held a single mirror. As Len stepped closer onto the stone platform, he could see swirling designs and flowers carved into the stone. He placed his hand against the smooth glass of the mirror, studying his reflection closely.

Len became confused when his reflection's hand moved itself into a different location on the glass. He had not remembered moving his hand there. In that brief moment of confusion, Len felt his shoulders being thrust forward and into the glass. The boy had screamed, fighting with his reflection, but it was too late.

He had fallen through the tangible material and into the other side of the looking glass.

His face had hit cool tile with a loud thud. Scrambling up to his feet with a moan, Len looked around. The glass behind him had begun rapidly disappearing into too small of a hole for him to escape through.

Clapping noises bounced off of the tile to Len's ears as he glanced around quickly. Seated upon a black velvet throne was someone he recognized. The purple hair was a dead give away.

Gakupo stood from the throne, dressed in a ornate, white kimono. His hair had come loose from its ponytail holder, draping his shoulders. On either side of him, two, beautiful women encircled his arms. However, Len could clearly see his reflection in them. Glass.

"Welcome to my kingdom. It's been a while since I've had a visitor." As he began approaching Len, the two glass girls let go before standing back against the throne. Something else was strange about Gakupo. His eyes were covered by a white silk bandana. It wasn't that hard to see, considering that Len's face was being forcibly pressed together and brought closer to the older male's. "Such a cute boy," he remarked quietly before releasing him. "Gladys, Glenda, take him away."

The two women of glass stepped forward and took each of Len's arms to his protest.

"Let me go!" he yelled, trying to squeeze out of their iron and ice like grips.

"I'm sorry, but that's not a even possibility," Gakupo said coldly.


	7. Chapter 7: Glass

Within this kingdom of mirrors, Len found himself alone again, save for his reflection. He had at least been given a bed within the room. However, it was as cold as ice with no pillows or blankets. The people in that crazy, candy world probably had marshmallows for pillows, but this world wasn't like the candy world. At least, it had been warm, but this place was just cold and empty. He felt incredibly depressed in here that had combined with his feelings of loneliness. And for some reason, feelings of fear plagued him. Nothing had scared Len. Gakupo certainly hadn't. Len had beaten him before, and he could have certainly done it again. Those girls of glass could easily fall over and break. This fear was irrational and unnatural like someone was suppressing it upon his back.

"_That's not good enough."_ Len stirred from his zombie-like state, twisting and turning as to where the voice had come from. The voice had the sharp yet dull tone of an old teacher, Mrs. Yotake.

"_I'm trying, Mrs. Yotake!"_ a little girl's voice called out. Len instantly recognized that. It had to have been Rin's.

Yes, he could see them now. A tall elderly woman stood over a little blond girl with pigtails. That had to have been Rin, but she looked much younger like she was six or so. She was dressed in her pink leotard with white stockings and ballet slippers. That outfit had been thrown out years ago..

They were being projected onto one of the mirror walls like a television screen, only much larger. Their voices reverberated across the walls, sounding off into Len's ears. It was as though he was actually there. Though when he had crawled towards the wall and placed his hand upon it, he only felt glass. But without the use of his fingertips, he felt much more. Len felt pain in the forms of depression, anger, regret, and fear.

Little Rin had begun to cry and scream as Mrs. Yotake responded with whips from the ruler in her hand. _"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!"_ the little girl screamed, throwing her hands atop her head in order to protect herself from the blows.

Len watched with eyes wide in horror. He didn't know anything about this. Rin had just said she tripped whenever he had asked about the bruises across her arms. They had gone to separate dance schools. There had been one for boys and one for girls, none for both. "Leave her alone!" he screamed, pounding his fists against the glass.

"_Mommy! Daddy! Len!"_ she screamed continuously.

At each of her screams, Len banged harder with his fists against the glass. He didn't know how this would help in any way, but a wave of emotion had overcame him. Len needed to save her.. That was his duty as her brother, as her twin.

A loud crack came as glass shattered. The image upon the wall had faded to be replaced by a large hole and many shards of glass. There was also blood and pain mixed as well. Len had managed to punch through the wall. Blood ran down from his knuckles to his elbow, dripping down both sides of the crack. Millions of tiny daggers had embedded themselves in his skin. Searing and sharp pain filled his mind as tears began to fall from his face.

Len wasn't crying from the pain. He was crying from what he had just witnessed. His beautiful, innocent sister had suffered physical abuse from that woman for at least five years, and no one had ever known. She hadn't told a soul of what she went through daily, not even her brother. Len had forgotten all about the signs, the bruises and the tears. How could he have let Rin suffer?

The sudden noise of clapping made him raise his head weakly. Through the large hole in the wall, he could see the flowing kimono of Gakupo. The purple-haired man had knelt down beside Len's body. Taking his bloodied arm, Gakupo kissed his fingertips with a smirk, causing Len to let out a shriek of pain as more glass struck him.

"You've really done it, my new pet. Not many can break through a wall," he announced with a chuckle. "But did you have to get blood everywhere? Ugh. It's hard to clean that."

If Len hadn't felt so deprived of energy, he would have surely punched the other with the glass in his knuckles. Instead, he simply let out a moan of exhaustion as sweat dripped from his forehead.

The purple-haired man had simply smiled with his expression briefly reminding Len of a painting of Lucifer. "Oh, Len.. You're such a disgrace but a cute one at least.." Suddenly, he pushed Len back into the room where more sounds of crunching glass came.

Len was surprised that he was even remaining awake and conscious. His back had already been torn before, but now, he was sure that it was being ripped to pieces. Len watched Gakupo unlock the door of the glass room and enter, shutting it behind him with tear-filled eyes. He noticed the expression on the other male's face, and his eyes instantly widened.

Gakupo had sauntered up beside the injured blond before kneeling beside him. "Oh, so adorable.. Look at you, still struggling while you're surely going to die of blood loss. But I'll tell you a secret, Len.." The man leaned forward, pressing his lips against Len's left ear and whispered, "I find blood to be sexy."

Len's eyes widened even further. His muscles had begun twisting as he attempted to pull himself away from the other, but Gakupo had already pressed his arms down, resting his knees on Len's stomach. Len cried out as more glass began to pierce through his skin. Yet he still continued to struggle to no avail.

The demon of glass had smirked at Len's fearful expression one more time before he forcibly pressed his lips against the younger's. He sucked on them with no such tender before sticking his tongue through into the other's mouth. At Len's struggle and resistance, Gakupo just pressed with more force, twirling his tongue around Len's. Then he felt a slight sting as Len had retaliated to the forced kiss by biting his tongue. Gakupo simply pressed harder and continued. Then he turned his attention to another area. "Must you continue struggling? You're going to die. Let me make your last moments pleasurable…"

Len simply rolled his head back in exhaustion, knowing of what was to happen soon. This purple-haired monster wanted to rape him. Gakupo wanted to rape his bloodied body senseless. Len had seen it in that unfriendly smirk. How he wanted to punch him, how he wanted to stab him with his own glass… If only the glass hadn't broken.. If only Gakupo hadn't heard… Maybe, Len could have escaped this castle of glass and saved Rin, and they could have escaped her dream-turned-nightmare together. But no. He couldn't even see the Joker again. Even if Kaito was the enemy, Len still felt some sort of admirable feeling for him. _If only, if only, the woodpecker sighed…_

"Rin, Miku, Luka, Meiko, Joker, Kaito," Len whispered the names to himself as if that alone would help him remember those people in his death.

Gakupo had already begun stripping Len of his costume. He had had no trouble, unlike Len with doing that. The stupid hat with its annoying jingle had been discarded. His bloodied shirt and his torn pants had been unbuttoned and thrown as well. Gakupo hadn't cared enough to be easy with his arm and back. The full damage was then displayed to the bitter air. Gakupo's eyes glanced at the small cuts across Len's torso, but when it came to the arm and hand, he stared intensely at the displayed muscle and tissue that had been stabbed. A wave of satisfaction went throughout his body. The sight of the damage without the stupid costume only made him feel more pleasured.

Then the man reached for Len's black boxer briefs with eager hands.

Before he could pull the undergarments down, Gakupo felt a large amount of pain in his head as he was dragged by his ponytail off the younger boy with a quick and strong tug. Then he was thrown against the glass wall. Unlike Len who had broken through the glass, Gakupo simply passed through it like a ghost, landing on the other side of the wall onto the floor. Then immense pressure came upon his neck as someone forcibly squeezed it. Unfortunately, the attacker had not realized that the purple-haired man was just as special as himself. Sharp needles of glass pierced through into the attackers hands, causing it to release. Gakupo then kicked it back with as much force as he had been thrown. Though, this time, the wall actually did break.

The figure had collided into the wall, sending shards backwards in Len's direction. Surprisingly, the attacker had positioned itself in front of Len, taking the shards into its body. Instead of accessing its own damage, the face of a man turned to Len.

"Kaito," Len murmured quietly, recognizing the soft lips and blue coloring. However, he did not recognize the rest of his face. The porcelain mask had been forgotten. Now, Len could see the rich blue hair in full detail, along with the tanned skin, soft nose, and thick brows. However, the blue eyes had been replaced with something much more feral. They had turned a fierce red with a widening black slit serving as the pupil. His ears had also pointed oddly, but what startled him the most was a set of horns jutting out of Kaito's forehead. "What.. happened..?" Len questioned the sudden change of appearance, glancing at the gazelle-like horns.

"Len, we'll worry about that later. Right now, we have some bigger issues to worry about. For one, I have to 'kick some ass'." He turned away from Len before shrugging off the excess glass a few feet away.

Len sank into unconscious with a worried look upon his face.

Gakupo had sauntered into the room with an air of pure vanity. "Did you really have to ruin my fun? I was getting to the good part. Or wait? Have you already claimed him as yours?" He grinned widely as Kaito growled in response. Reaching his hands up behind his head, the purple-haired man removed the bandage across his eyes as it fell limply to the floor. When he opened them, bright golden orbs replaced normal human-eyes. It would have reminded most people of a snake's.

Kaito had instantly shut his own eyes from experience. Gakupo's eyes had a certain supernatural quality to them like the majority of his species. For as Len had envisioned, the purple-haired man really was a monster. Though, the poor boy had fortunately or unfortunately had not seen it.

"Oh, my dear _Joker._ Why have you shut your eyes?" the other man called cockily. He stepped forward, stroking Kaito's face with his cold hands. "Open them.. So I can kill you."

It was then that the Joker quickly kneed the other in the gut with such force that it would have caused a normal person to have severe organ damage. He rushed back quickly to Len with eyes open briefly, throwing the young boy's body over his shoulder.

"You sneaky little bitch," Gakupo cursed, pulling himself off the ground with a hiss. "In cassse you have forgotten, thiss isss my dimension!" At his yell of rage, the glass walls had begun shaking violently.

What Kaito had been glad that Len could not see was the fact that Gakupo had a monstrous appearance along with a monstrous personality. What Len had seen was a pair of legs, but what Kaito knew was that those pair of legs was really the purple scaled tail of a gigantic cobra. The man's skin was covered with various shades of purple scales. That long ponytail was actually the hood of a cobra. Len would have surely been frightened as well by the sight of fangs reaching from the snake's snout to the collar bone of the human-like torso. And unlike ordinary cobras, this one had muscular human arms with long poisonous spikes jutting out of them and large hands with branching claws. For this wasn't the Gakupo Len knew at all.

At their master's hiss, the women of glass had begun emerging from the surrounding walls, looking as though they had just pulled themselves from water than glass. However, they had weapons this time. One wielded a large axe, and the other managed to find a lance. Their master had materialized a glass scythe himself.

"You're surrounded. Give up that stupid little boy before I take him from you, limb by limb."

In response to that, Kaito pulled his top lip upward to expose sharp fangs that were not as long as Gakupo's but just as menacing. Then a guttural growl escaped his lips, reminiscent of a cat's.

"Ssso be it!" Gakupo shouted as both girls of glass and their master lunged at the Joker.

The first girl of glass with the axe had aimed for Kaito's midsection, hoping to separate his body in two. The second girl with her lance had aimed for Kaito's head. Both had made a miscalculation by forgetting the fact that going down was always an option.

The Joker quickly leaned onto his back onto the ground, positioning Len as to where he wouldn't crush him before covering the boy's face with his arm. Then he rolled backwards to avoid the oncoming damage.

The two girls collided. The first had dismembered the second's leg, and the second had broken the first's head in a shatter of glass. The first fell shattering into the ground now that the balance was upset like a vase tumbling from the top of a shelf.

The real problem, however, was not the girls but the cobra. "You idiotss!" Gakupo hissed in pure rage. He advanced upon Kaito with the melancholic swinging of his scythe. It was like a pendulum, swinging from side to side. It aimed for Kaito's head but missed due to the other's ducking. "Stay still ssso I can kill you!"

Kaito was not about to let that happen. Though his choice of weapon was not as good appearance wise as the snake's, it was more than effective. As Kaito ran to his right, he tossed rectangular objects from inside his cape. One had struck Gakupo's scythe, causing it to explode. Glass erupted into the snake's face as it dropped the hilt of the broken weapon with a scream. Kaito took this opportunity as a chance to run with Len swinging from his grasp like a rag doll.

Unfortunately, Kaito really had forgotten that this was the snake's dimension. Something grabbed at his calf with sharp claws digging into his skin. Gakupo chuckled as the Joker fell, still clutching his prize protectively. He slithered out of the liquefying wall with a triumphant grin.

Kaito refused to scream in pain as his body trembled violently. The poison secreted from the tips of Gakupo's claws had sunk into his body and was beginning to travel through the blood stream.

"Doesss it hurt?" the snake questioned, leaning over Kaito. He wrenched the shaking arms from their grasp before yanking the prize from the blue-haired man. Gakupo held Len upwards by his armpits, looking as though he was holding a trophy more than anything. "I win," he said proudly. Then he began squeezing Len's muscles painfully in order to wake him up.

Len let out a pained screech as his eyes began to slowly open.

The snake seemed to encourage the opening of Len's eyes by shaking him up and down like a wet kitten. "Open your eyesss, fool!" he yelled.

Then something collided into the snake's exposed stomach. He felt two objects pierce through his body and escape out through his back. His own black blood began to squirt profusely as the objects yanked themselves free. The snake dropped his prize with a pained scream, the last it would ever make. It fell upon the tiled floor in a pool of its own oil-like blood. Then the body began to sink into the floor, slowly but surely. The snake had become a writhing human body of Gakupo, screaming and twisting painfully. "No! I don't want to go there! Help me! Please! No! No!" Against his pleading, Gakupo's own tiled floor had swallowed him up with his hand being the last to go down in a fury of flames.

The gazelle-like horns on Kaito's head dripped the blood of the snake onto the floor as his jaws ground his teeth together in pain. Though he wanted to just let the poison take over him, Kaito had another mission in mind. He scooped Len's fallen and bloodied body from the floor. As he began to exit the building with jerking muscles, Kaito looked down at the young boy with surprise that his blood had managed to clot and save his life.

Why had he saved the boy? Why had he continued to save him? Kaito did not know, but there was some feeling, some emotion that kept springing to life at each glance towards Len's angelic face. But then Kaito frowned and regretted that he had not saved him.

Len just didn't know of the reflection in the glass.


	8. Chapter 8: Monster

First of all, I would like to say, "Thank you so much for the good reviews!" You all are really what encourages me to continue. I honestly didn't expect to have such a fan base, and it makes me feel proud to have one as lovely as you all. Thank you so much for your patience with this. I know that I don't update as fast as I should. But I'm going to try to fix that.

* * *

Len had stirred from a deep slumber with an expression of puzzlement. He could smell the bittersweet grass again. The different types of candied flavors wafted into his nose. Len could also feel the drafty breeze against his body as he shivered from the cold. However, there was something else along beside him in the candied world.

The boy had been cradled in the arms of a warm, comforting presence but with a slight cold edge to it. Len instantly recognized that feeling before he saw the Joker's sleeping face. The young boy blushed sheepishly, realizing that his only article of clothing were his boxers. He folded his legs over each other in embarrassment at being caught almost in the nude by another man. However, he couldn't help but smile around Kaito, even if it was only a small one. His small smile had turned into an obvious frown at the sight of the horns protruding to be still there. Only this time, there were dark stains on the tips. He reached his uninjured hand up to touch them, feeling the smooth yet rigid quality to them.

On instinct, Kaito had awakened, grabbing Len's wrist roughly. When he had realized who the hand belonged to, he had let it drop with a sigh. "I'm sorry, Len…"

"It's fine, Kaito. It must be awkward for you with those on your head.. Not that they look funny or anything!" Len replied. Realizing that he was still in Kaito's arms, he twisted to get free before biting his lip at the sudden pain in his arm.

"It's not just that," Kaito said harshly in response before softening his tone again. He pulled Len closer against his body. Len's body seemed to fit against Kaito's in their embrace, spooning as it were. "I've kidnapped your sister, traumatized you to I'm not sure what degree, and allowed you to kidnapped at least twice now." He sighed at his list before mumbling, "You are what you are… I'm evil.."

Len turned sharply to a degree that he almost yelped in pain from his injuries. "No!" he shouted loudly into Kaito's face. Realizing his error, the boy blushed deeply before saying, "You're not evil, Kaito.. You didn't have to save me, but you did. You've done bad things before but so does everyone else. Rin always said, 'The good things count.'"

Kaito seemed to be taken aback by Len's words. "Len.. But I- Rin.."

"This doesn't mean I've forgiven you. I won't ever forgive you until my sister returns to me, safe and sound."

"I can't promise you that," Kaito replied after a long pause. He released Len from his grasp as the blond shifted away from him.

"Why not?" Len said darkly and deliberately as if his words were like poison to sink in Kaito's skin.

However, he already had poison seeping throughout his blood stream. Kaito tried his best to control his reactions to the venom. He had covered the mark on his leg with a torn strip of his cape, hoping that Len would not discover it. It ached dully, then sharply periodically. Fortunately, it was not as effective upon him as it would have been a normal human. Feeling his fingers tingle and twitch, he hid them beneath his body. Kaito didn't feel as though Len needed to see that.

"Len, you're the only one who can save her… I could tell you where she is, but.. I don't want to."

"What do you mean you don't want to?! That's my sister!" Len screamed, beating at the other man's chest with his uninjured fist as if that would hurt him. "Why not, damn it, why not?!"

Kaito wrenched at the younger's wrist, clenching it like a vise. "Len, calm down. You're acting foolish."

"Kaito, Rin-" Len was stopped by something so extraordinary that his breathing practically halted right then. The Joker had pressed those beautifully soft lips against Len's own, gently but surely. Len didn't remember ever being kissed romantically before. Rin and he had kissed before, but it had been an innocent childhood kiss, nothing over that. This felt so much more different.. It was heavenly sweet with some awkwardness thrown in, but the simple ecstasy of that moment had rubbed all hint of embarrassment away.

Kaito realized quickly what he had done. He pulled away before jumping at an incredible height backwards, five feet away from the young blond. He seemed to be twisting and writing for some reason as if he were in incredible pain. His eyes were wide and gazing at Len with a panicked expression clear on his face. Seeing no other option, the blue-haired man began running off into the candied field.

Len scrambled to his feet, ignoring the amount of pain healing wounds brought. He didn't pay attention to the soon-to-be scars. All the boy cared about at that moment was Kaito. Len hobbled after the Joker as quickly as he could, but he was no match for the supernaturally gifted man. "Wait, Kaito! Wait!" Len called aloud. However, the blue-haired man was soon a blur in the distance. Then Len simply fell to the ground in exhaustion with tears evidenced in his eyes. "Kaito," he whimpered in an almost pleading tone.

He didn't know if he'd ever feel that happy again.

Kaito leaned against a lollipop tree, panting at how fast and hard he had run to get away from the younger boy. It wasn't as though he hated Len for anything. No. Kaito had run away for a reason that was not his choice. Thinking of Len, he turned upon the tree with rage. A single punch split it in two as it fell to the ground in candied splinters.

"Why am I.. this way..? Why was I born into such a life..?" he mumbled to himself, looking at his shadow in disgust. "I'm tired of hurting people… I just want to say one sentence to him.. I just want to say, 'I love you, Len.'" Realizing what he had said, Kaito screamed, "SHIT!" Though to him, it sounded more of an animal-like roar than anything.

For in all honesty, Kaito could never say he loved anyone without something dreadful occurring. He already knew of it, but others did not. He was just like that purple cobra, relatively human in Len's eyes, but in reality a monster. Each demon was cursed or 'blessed' with this as it were. They could walk through a street unnoticed by most, but if ever another loved the demon or the opposite, bits of the monster would be revealed. The mask of hopeful imagination would fade and be replaced by harsh reality.

A sudden image came into his mind. Len was screaming, running.. Running from him. It hurt..

It was then that Kaito realized that he had left the younger in much the same fashion. Len hadn't done anything wrong, nothing wrong at all. Kaito had been the one to start the kiss. He imagined how Len must have felt about that, being kissed and then having it taken away like that.

But Kaito didn't want Len to see him as a monster. He didn't want to make the younger feel terrified. Already, he had put the boy into enough danger, shoving him into his sister's own imagination from her dreams to her glass-filled nightmares. Kaito just wanted to tell the blond where her soul was hidden so he could instantly escape this place and never return. But there was a consequence in itself, Kaito would probably perish from starvation and be forgotten completely by Len. He didn't want either. The monster didn't want either.

Kaito cursed as he felt the sting in his ankle from that stupid cobra. It was bothersome but not fatal at least.

Against his better judgment, Kaito found himself walking away from the remains of the candied tree. His body seemed to have a mind on its own, and his mind couldn't really argue with its intention. He couldn't let Len be alone again, monster or no monster. What other sort of nightmares did Rin have, and what nightmares did the twins share? Kaito shuddered. It only took one nightmare to bring it to life in this realm. If it was dreamed enough, the monster could escape into the real world to wreak real havoc as a demonic entity. The Joker knew as that was how he was born..

He remembered only little of his birth, awakening into the mind of a little girl. Kaito had sought shelter and answers from her whenever she went to sleep. He would follow her, trying to talk to her. She had screamed and cried for the monster to go away, to leave her alone. This had made him feel good for some reason, made him feel full not hungry. The monster continued to follow her in her dreams as she continued to cry and run. If she awoke to escape the danger, the world would go dark, and Kaito would be left alone again inside the womb of her mind.

"_You're just like that stupid clown! You're a prankster, a torturer! You're a joker! A sick, twisted joker! Leave me alone!"_

The monster could not take it anymore. He wanted more. He wanted the girl to like him if at least a little bit, but no, she had hated his appearance. She began to hate her dreams, and Kaito seldom saw her again. _Insomnia_. As his rage grew, the monster began to hate the girl as well. They forced her to sleep often at the asylum, and one day, she just could not fight the medicines off.

"_Love me!"_ cried the young monster.

"_NEVER!"_ cried the girl.

Then the monster did what all monsters do. He ate her alive in her dreams.

As her soul was devoured, her eyes went empty, and the nurse declared the girl to be dead.

Kaito, the monster, moved from one mind to the next, inflicting the same nightmare upon their bodies. He ate so many souls, killed so many with their own dreams. After the death of another young girl, Kaito was granted manifestation in both the dream realm and the real realm in the form of a set of eight tarot cards, along with his literal and figurative mask.

Unfortunately, Kaito had lost or given his cards to Len. For now, he was stuck in the dream realm until Len lost or won the game set by Kaito. Len only had this one day left to finish, but the boy had no clue where he had hid the boy's sister's soul. The Joker wanted to tell him, tell him everything, but if he breathed such a statement, that figurative mask that shielded Len's eyes would break instantly. But if he did not tell the boy, Len would surely lose this game of hide and seek with souls, causing his sister's as well as his deaths at the hands of the Joker.

"Don't but do love me, please," Kaito whispered under his breath.

He came across the boy after some distance. Len was lying with his head turned on the grass. His arms and legs were outspread, and at first sight, the boy looked as though he had died in indecency. But Kaito could hear the faint traces of the younger's breath. The man knelt beside Len, running his fingers through that blonde ponytail before lifting him into his lap. Kaito cradled the younger close and began to speak, "Len.. Don't open your eyes just yet.. I have something I want to tell you.. To show you.."

However, it was too late. Len had awoke, expecting to see the blue hair and the soft lips, but instead, he saw something entirely different. A midnight blue furred creature was holding him close to its muscular chest with large arms and claws. Instead of the soft lips Len had imagined, he saw a snout with a curving nose and wide nostrils, and the face had a round jaw that was framed by a mane of bright blue. He recognized the horns, but they were not that large. Pointed, large ears stood on either side of them, twitching often. The boy knew what it was before he saw the large, vein-covered wings jutting from the creature's back. Len screamed, "BAT!" before scrambling to get away.

The monster had seemed stunned, letting Len roll from its arms and onto the ground. Weakly, he had begun hobbling away, feeling sure that the monster was going to eat him. His muscles were aching from exhaustion and cramps with his arm suffering the worst. "No!" the boy yelled as the gigantic blue bat pounced upon him, pressing Len against the ground. He continued to struggle violently.

"LEEEENNN! STOOOPP ITTTT!" the thing yelled in a strangled, guttural voice. "III LLOOOVEEE YOUUUU!"

The boy's eyes widened with shock at the fact that the bat had managed to speak. They widened even more as he saw evident tears running down the furry cheeks from those red, cat-like eyes. The bat loosened its grip on Len, pulling itself upward on its large hind legs. Seeing how huge it was made Len all the more frightened. Then it pulled itself so close to the young boy that his heart almost stopped. He could smell the bat's breath as it oozed with candy sweetness. It then began to open its mouth, revealing its massive fangs and drool. Len screamed as the thing pressed further towards his face.


	9. Chapter 9: Tower

I lied. Only one chapter left, and it will be the longest.

* * *

Len felt something familiar against his cheek. He had laid there tensing as the gigantic bat pressed against his frail body with some sort of gentle closure. Len had wanted to scream and run away, but unfortunately, he was caught in the monster's grasp. But then something so real and different touched him, soft, human lips. Len glanced back at the monster briefly and saw Kaito there instead with tears evident on his face along with a small smile.

"Kaito?" Len choked out.

Len stared incredulously as the beast nodded before pulling itself off of him. Then it began crawling away on all fours. He reached out, wrapping his hand around the bat's ankle and tugging. The monster glanced back with its red eyes blinking into focus. It seemed to be confused, judging by its mouth hanging agape and eyebrows raised. "Kaito… Don't leave." Despite Len's urgings, the monster had continued to press on, ripping his ankle easily from the weak boy's grasp. Len struggled yet again to hold him back, crawling upon the ground with a pained expression as old wound's scraped against the sugar coating. "KAITO!" Len screamed as tears welled up in his eyes.

Kaito had stopped his advancement. He had stood there with his muscles tensing as his brain sought hard for an answer. Why wasn't Len telling him to go away? Kaito had already begun to try and walk away, leaving the boy injured if not at least sane. However, Len seemed to be desperately pulling them both towards an area of madness, called love. _This is impossible, he thought. But his logic had already begun drifting away, replaced by sweet and pleasurable sensation. He turned towards Len in his monstrous body, staring at him with those animalistic yet still human eyes._

_The boy had looked upon him with tears streaming from his face, much like the monster had. What a crybaby ogre he was. But Len's eyes seemed to spell out forgiveness and recognition as Kaito felt himself moving closer to the boy. Though he could detect some signs of fear from the blond such as panting and some sweat, Kaito did not seem to mind as he pulled Len into an embrace. "I'm sorry, Len," he whispered quietly._

_It had been moments before that Kaito's speech was barely discernable, but now, he found himself understanding every word. The other's body had seemed to shrink, losing the fearful features it had had before. Even the red eyes had turned into a royal blue._

_Len found himself blushing furiously as the Joker pressed his body against his chest. "Ka-Kaito!" he yelped. "What happened to you?! You were a big-big bat!" the boy spoke rapidly. His eyebrows lowered angrily at Kaito's sudden laughter with the blush glowing even brighter upon his face. "What's so funny?!"_

"_You're silly, Len. I was always a 'big-big bat'. I still am right now," Kaito replied with a smirk clear across his face at Len's wide-eyed expression and obvious confusion. He had picked up the young blond at this point before placing him a few feet away. Sure enough, Len's expression changed to obvious fear at seeing a large blue bat now instead of the human Kaito. With a sadistic twist of humor, Kaito repeated the process of cuddling with Len only to push him back for two more times. Finally, he held Len close in his arms with his tongue sticking out in amusement after Len had shouted, "Stop!"_

"_Len, I don't think you realize what I am," he said finally._

"_Then what exactly are you?"_

"_Quite simply put, I'm of the same breed as that Gakupo. I think the correct term is demon," Kaito announced with no sort of empathetic tone with in his voice,_

_Len was already startled enough as it was. For one thing, Kaito could transform into a gigantic blue bat, and apparently, he was still in that form at that exact moment even with the human disguise. For another, he was just like that mirror Gakupo that had tried to kill them the night before. And finally, this was all summed up with one word, demon. He was startled more by the sudden wave of realization that overcame him._

_Kaito was supernaturally strong and fast. He had appeared out of thin air whenever Len had needed him. He had put Len into the imaginary world created by his sister's mind. Those Cards.. Kaito controlled everything within this candied land. All because of him being a demon._

"_Why are you telling me this..? One minute, you're torturing me. Then you're loving me, and now, you're back to torturing me.. Why, Kaito-no-Joker, why?"_

_Kaito had been caught off guard by Len's reply. He had not exactly expected such, and a red blush came across his face at the idea. What was even worse was that he did not know exactly how to reply to Len's question. He chewed upon his bottom lip before finally coming up with an answer. "…It's my job, Len. I'm sorry."_

"_Do you think this-I'm a joke? Is that why you're called the Joker, because you toy with people's feelings?" Len looked generally angry with his eyebrows furrowed. His accusations continued to fly with daggers in their tone._

_Then, surprisingly, Kaito began laughing aloud, rolling back upon the grass with Len still in his arms. Len had about had it and had tried to crawl away, but Kaito had an iron grip around the boy's chest. Then the blond looked up to discover tears falling from the demon's cheeks, rolling upon his human cheeks and down his chin to hit Len atop the head._

"_That's what she said," Kaito said at last, making Len even angrier for a moment. "No! Not that way! A girl said that to me once.. She hated me so much. 'Crybaby Ogre' was what she called me, because she made me cry so much."_

"_But you're a demon..?"_

"_Exactly."_

_Another wave of confusion surrounded Len. As far as he knew from all of those pictures and details in story books, demons were supposed to be vicious monsters that ripped people to shreds. He could not imagine a drooling, blood-covered monster ever crying, let alone crying often to a little girl of all things. It just wasn't natural or right. "How is that- Why did you cry, Kaito?" Len asked._

"_Because she hated me. Just because I eat souls and can easily rip you into a million pieces doesn't mean that I don't have any emotions. I can't be hurt as easily as you can physically, but emotionally and mentally, we're the same."_

_Len nodded as he realized that what Kaito was saying was truthful. Hadn't Kaito just been crying earlier over his body? Though he had the visage of a monster, he still cried like a human being. However, one more question was bothering him. "How come you're human right now if you're not?"_

"_Oh? I'm only human to you right now, because you love me enough to willingly crawl into the arms of something that could and would eat you whole."_

_The blond gasped, shaking his head in disbelief with the brightest blush yet on his face. "B-but you're a boy! And umm.. We only just met three days ago!"_

_Kaito laughed at Len's outburst before his face drained of color. His eyes widened immensely and his mouth was agape. "L-Len! You've got to go now!"_

_Len had been shoved out of Kaito's arms as the man quickly appeared as his monstrous form. Though Len had begun protesting, he was scooped up into the bat's large arms with a yelp. Then the ground began disappearing beneath as he felt the sudden draft of chilling air. Oh how he wished he still had something more than a pair of boxers. This was embarrassing. But there was no crawling away anymore, not when they were ascending high into the sky._

_A sudden chirp alerted him to a pink, marshmallow bird flying in the sky beside them. It reminded him of Easter and how Rin always managed to never find at least one egg. He frowned slightly until more of the birds arrived in an assortment of pastel colors. Len reached out to touch one, but it just barely left his fingertips. Strangely enough, the birds turned around, flying in the other direction with a sudden chirp of surprise._

_When the boy glanced down, he noticed that the scenery had begun changing. The lollipop trees had become iron pentacles. The grass had utterly stopped growing at the area with mud as its replacement. Even the sun had refused to shine there. Len did recognize the girl in the moon, but she had her back turned as if even she did not want to look at the place anymore. After staring at the black iron structures for some moments, he realized that they were leaning perilously forward as if pointing at something. Then he saw it._

_Sitting in the very center of the chaotic place was a tall mass of metal. Upon its face was a wide and circular piece of glass with Roman numerals surrounding it. Instead of being just a quadrilateral, it had several pipes and rectangles jutting and twisting around each other. Black slabs of brick formed a spiraling cone as its roof with gargoyle statues surrounding it. What was worse was that they kept flying closer towards it._

_Len glanced up at the monstrous bat carrying him. Kaito's chest was heaving rapidly up and down with heavy panting. His mouth was open slightly as some strands of drool dripped from his fangs. His eyes were wide and affixed upon the tower. The bat's grip had increased as Len felt claws digging into his side. At the boy's sudden yelp, however, the bat shook its head rapidly as if coming back from a trance. _

_Then they began to rapidly descend, causing Len to let out a loud scream. The ground was making a come back. The mud seemed to be getting closer and closer with each millisecond. Len closed his eyes, praying silently to himself. _

_The giant bat had veered into the mud, hitting it with a splatter as he raised the boy above his head. The beast was inhaling deeply as he placed Len trembling upon the ground. Before Len could question the bat further, it had turned around and begun flying, scattering mud upon the boy._

_Len coughed upon the dirt, spitting it upon the ground with disgust. He felt incredibly nauseous and wanted so badly to throw up what little meals he had eaten, but the boy knew that he was already weak enough without needing vomit to be added to the list. He shivered before wrapping his arms around his chest. How he wished that Kaito had at least remembered to give him clothes._

_He glanced upwards, seeing the dark spiral contrasting against the white moon. Len sighed. This was his destination. His heart was already thumping with anticipation as if something was calling him. He felt a warm sensation enter his body as if being hugged. "Rin.. Rin's in there," he murmured to himself. Len had begun approaching the building when something yelled at him._

"_Wait!" an older woman's voice yelled._

_Len glanced around, determined to find the owner of the voice. Then he glanced upwards to see that the woman in the moon was looking at him with her soft red eyes. She seemed hesitant to speak, biting her lip before continuing._

"_It's dangerous in there… You don't even have clothes or a weapon…"_

"_I have to go in there. My sister's there," he replied._

_She went silent for a moment, glancing around with her teeth clenching as if faced with a tough decision. Finally, she breathed out deeply and asked, "Do you keep your promises?"_

_Len nodded quickly with a determined expression._

"_If I give you clothes, will you please do something for me..? M-my body's in there.. And so is my friend's… Please, please, find our bodies.. Bury us.. Burn us.. Together." She kept glancing away with tears streaming from her eyes before shouting, "We'll never rest in peace!"_

_Len gasped at the woman's request. He felt his heartstrings being tugged towards their cause. The sun and the moon wished to be sent to the afterlife together. Len couldn't deny her their request. They deserved to be put to rest peacefully. The two girls seemed like such sweet people.. "Yes. I'll scour that tower for you and for your friend after I rescue my sister."_

"_Thank you… I wish you good luck, but for now…. Goodbye.." She blew a kiss before her image shattered completely. The moon had faded quickly and utterly in a shower of light. _

_Len was blinded for a few moments due to the white light as something drifted down to the mud. He scooped it up quickly to see that it was another tarot card. This time, it featured a crescent moon with a figure sitting upon it. He wiped the mud off of the card, staring intently at it. The card seemed to glow faintly in Len's hands before disappearing. _

_As he stood dumbfounded for a moment, he glanced down at his feet to see some sort of silver liquid racing up his feet. Len yelped as the material quickly covered his entire body. Then it had rapidly hardened, encasing his body in some sort of cocoon. Then the cocoon shattered, leaving Len lying upon the ground dazed. He stood up with a clink of metal. Gazing down upon his body, he gasped at the fact that he was now covered in silver armor. Unlike the classic knight visage he had expected, this armor was slimming and light with some curvature.. "Girl armor," he moaned._

_It was then that Len noticed that his armor was rather shiny and blinding. The whole land was that way. When he glanced up into the sky, he realized quickly why. With the moon gone, the sun had risen to replace it. The blond girl he had seen before turned to him with a glare._

"_That's Haku's armor. Did you steal it?!" she shouted angrily._

"_N-no! She g-gave it to me!" he responded quickly, not wanting to face the sun's wrath._

"_Pfft. In that case, you need a weapon. Just because you have armor doesn't mean you'll die, stupid. Whatever Haku made you promise, you better do it, or I will haunt you for eternity. So use it wisely, jerk!"_

_Len gasped as even the sun had exploded in a shower of yellow light. Like before with the moon, a tarot card had drifted down to the mud. He picked it up to examine it yet again. This time, it featured a figure standing underneath a bright sun. The card glowed faintly with a yellow light before disappearing. Len glanced around his feet quickly, knowing what was to happen next. However, a yellow metallic liquid had encased his arm instead before hardening rapidly. The boy gulped at the sight, shaking his arm to get rid of the hardened cocoon. It shattered, leaving a long metallic object in his fist. _

_A sword with a yellow hilt had been formed. Only, this wasn't exactly a sword. It was thinner to which Len realized as a rapier. Curling metal from the hilt wrapped around the blade slightly, featuring dangling orange jewels. A sun had been positioned at the end of the hilt. Len swiped at the air with the rapier with a wide grin at its speed and power._

_He raised the sword to point at the tower as if challenging it. "Alright, you stupid tower! I'm going to take you down now!" he yelled._

"_You're forgetting something," a voice announced. On cue, a familiar card appeared before Len. He recognized it quickly as the one that had appeared after the death of that fake Miku. Like before, the card had glowed faintly before disappearing utterly. This time, Len's opposite arm was struck by a white liquid that hardened rapidly. The cocoon soon shattered, revealing a large circular piece of silver. _

_Len examined the shield upon his elbow, remarking upon the swirling designs. However, he could not help but moan when he noticed the center. A large leek had a crown imprinted upon it in the metal. "Well… I have something now," he murmured to himself._

_Turning back to the tower, Len called to the spiraling black metal, "Okay! Let's go, you stupid tower! Throw your best at me!" as he raced towards it._


	10. Chapter 10: Battle

Len felt quite awkward in his girly armor with somewhat girly weapons. Was it the ponytail? He sighed. His ponytail was one of the easiest differences to spot between him and his twin sister. Often times, that was how their parents and friends recognized them. Otherwise, they would check for an Adam's Apple. Len was a boy and felt as if he should have boyish weapons and armor, but no, it seemed that the other Cards had either made a grave mistake or were enjoying a practical joke.

As he approached the wrought iron door, Len couldn't help but go over the events of the past days in his mind. On his birthday of all days, his beloved sister had been stolen by a crazy blue mad man. Then she had been knocked into a deep slumber with Len being trapped in her dreams to face whatever nightmare her imagination could come up with. All the while, that crazed blue mad man had taunted him with a wide smirk. But for some reason, that blue mad man, the Joker-- Kaito, felt some sort of emotion toward him. Len wasn't sure if it was just the pangs of guilt, or if Kaito really did care about him.

Len gulped as he recognized the designs of spiders, rats, and snakes carved into the door. Len did not mind the rats or the snakes, but the spiders, on the other hand, made his skin crawl. Rin had to keep making this journey even worse as time went on unintentionally. It couldn't be helped though. That bright, blond-headed girl with her cheerful laugh and wide grin was inside this cold, relentless framework of iron. She was alone and probably terrified without anyone to comfort her. Spiders, rats, and snakes would not stop him from being the one to comfort her.

With one more gulp, the boy had wrenched the door open before walking inside. He could hear a loud and sickening slam as the door behind him shut. Len could even hear the click of a lock. Len had checked the handle for when he came back out of the tower only to find the door jammed shut. Apparently, there was no way out. He bit his lip and cursed silently to himself of the stupid door.

The first thing Len saw was inky blackness. His eyes had tried to adjust to the newfound darkness, only for a sudden roar of flames to announce themselves. He yelped after being startled, raising his shield over his face. However, it was just simply candles coming to life seemingly by themselves. Len found himself in a simple yet ornate room of stained marble. There were no windows or doors in the iron walls. The only route was made apparent by the grand staircase in the center of the room. There was only one other decoration, in the form of a once grand chandelier. Shattered glass littered the floor indeed as the gold metal stand hung crookedly from the ceiling. It was a rather eerie sight in the surrounding, dim light.

He began tip toeing through the glass, trying not to step on it and alert whatever creatures lived within this haunted building of chilling iron. As he tip toed by, however, he nearly tripped as if something had been in his way when there had not been. Len had caught himself on railing of the staircase, only to be almost knocked down again by a sudden gust of wind.

The chandelier began to shake rapidly, twisting on its rusted chain. Len had ran up a few steps only for the piece to become effected by gravity and time. The metal framework crashed upon the center of the floor and created a loud bang as it did.

When the boy glanced back, he could see something moving near the fallen metal. Then a familiar voice had him running as fast as he could up the stairs.

"Come back to me, Len! I've misssed you ssso much!" Gakupo called.

It had been something straight from a horror movie. Len had glanced back to see the familiar man trying to climb the stairs. Half of him seemed to be transfixed beneath the ground. His eyes were nothing but black sockets and dripping blood upon the stairs.

Len had ran into a wall, falling upon the floor with a loud clang of his metal. He stood up quickly, cursing the pain brought upon his injured arm caused by the very monster chasing him.

Gakupo continued to pursue Len up the stairs with a fanged, twisted grin. His blood leaked down the stairs in large pools with his lower half having been torn away due to Kaito's horns. He had several cuts upon his body as well. Still, he was inside the tower and determined to kill the bat's precious little boy. He spat poison at the boy, hissing much like a snake.

Len had froze for a moment at the oncoming creature, but now, he sidestepped away from the stream of pinkish liquid. His feet had to move fast due to Gakupo's swinging of his claw-like fingernails with one hit even making an ear-piercing scratch upon his armor. The boy finally had enough of this and raised his sword. Screaming loudly, he brought the blade down with a last splatter of blood through Gakupo's purple hair.

He panted at the amount of exertion upon both his body and mind. Len had never killed anything before, and just now, the boy had stabbed a man through the face. His body shook with terror and disgust as his stomach tried to make up for the situation. Len covered his mouth quickly, swallowing the vomit.

"I-I-I…. k-killed h-him," Len muttered to himself over and over.

He dropped the sword with both body and instrument falling backwards upon the ground before placing his bloodstained hands over his head. After trembling in a standing position for some moments, Len finally came to the conclusion that this man wasn't the real Gakupo and was a monster in disguise. He nodded solemnly before pulling the weapon out of Gakupo's face with a sharp tug.

Len then began to look for a door. He glanced down both hallways and found nothing. He walked down the left first and examined the walls with no luck. When he walked down the right, however, Len discovered something very odd. A decaying piece of paper was jutting out of a corner in the wall.

_To travel through hell, you go dow…_

The last letter had been missing due to a cut-off in the paper. Len supposed that the last word was most likely 'down'. However, this confused him immensely. He was inside a tower where a person usually went up, but this time, a person had to travel down. Len had not remembered spying any doorway besides the entrance at the bottom of the steps. There had only been the one grand staircase and nothing more.

"To travel through hell, you go down," Len repeated the words upon the paper to himself in his thought.

Suddenly, Len felt himself sinking. He screamed as his feet were sucked beneath the surface. The boy clawed at the walls with his one free arm, trying to pull himself away. It was too late however as Len began to rapidly fall through the ground. Len screamed, thrashing his arms widely with closed eyes.

It was then that Len realized that he was upon solid, stable ground. Like before, it had been pitch black, but now, candles began lighting themselves rapidly. Len groaned. He could almost see another monstrous thing coming at him, but for now, it was quiet.

Len had 'fallen' into a strange passageway of some sort. The air was damp, and it stunk of death and decay. The boy coughed a bit, covering his nose with the shield. Dirt and grime decorated the walls and floors. The only sound besides Len's own covered breathing happened to come from a leak in the roof. He had a short body spasm as if to shake off the nastiness of the place off of him.

Thinking of Rin and the two other girls again, Len took a cautious step forward. Seeing that the ground was sturdy enough, he continued. He constantly glanced back and forth in case something decided to attack him with his back turned.

A loud banging noise almost made Len feel like running back to where he had came from. His widened eyes gazed upon a fallen crate. A small, furry creature squeaked at the sight of him. Then the little mouse began running back to where it had come from, a little crack in the wall. The boy felt a hot blush coming to his cheeks in embarrassment. He had been scared of a little mouse. That little creature wouldn't hurt a fly, possibly due to a troop of them being able to take down a mouse. After laughing it off, Len felt more confident. Surely, Gakupo had been the worst thing this tower had had. After all, there wasn't much a mouse could do against someone coated with armor and carrying a sword of all things.

The boy continued to walk with less care now. He still kept his sword at hand and used his shield as a brace for whatever came up within this dank hall. After some paces, Len had reached the end of the hallway where a rotten door stood. Only the iron in its hinges and across it kept it standing, but even that had begun to rust and fall off in chunks. With curiosity, the boy had turned the handle with a resonant click before stepping inside.

Len had to blink in confusion as light hit his eyes. When he could at last see, he found himself within some sort of bedroom. The room was posh with decorative furniture. Round pillows sat upon the white carpet beside a glass table. White bookshelves hung from the walls with plenty of literary choices. A red velvet couch sat in the center of the room, and behind that, against the wall, was a large pink vanity. A sweet, tempting scent flooded the air, some sort of perfume.

Len had tensed up immediately as he realized that someone was seated before the mirror, running a comb through their hair. The figure turned with a beaming smile upon her pink lips. However, the boy had focused more on what the woman was wearing, just her underwear.

"Hello, Len!" Luka cried cheerfully, grabbing a fallen silk robe and throwing it haphazardly across her shoulders.

Len found himself stepping back a bit and gulping. He had never found the pink-haired girl attractive really. She had seemed quite conservative to him, a type of girl that would never stoop so low as to let a boy gaze upon her like this. However, she was standing there now. Her cleavage was quite apparent in a frilly pink bra with black polka dots, and he honestly had no earthly idea that matching underwear came that small and tight. "L-Luka!" he cried, but she continued to advance upon him.

The woman walked with the grace of a model or a panther. She seemed to pounce upon the young boy, pressing him into the wall. She was tall enough to the point that he would have been staring right at her large breasts. Luka placed a delicate finger upon the tip of Len's sword, pulling the weapon down with Len's hand shaking. She smirked when the weapon fell to the floor. "Oh, Len.. What's wrong? Don't you want me?"

He tried desperately to form a sentence, but as soon as he tried, he found his mouth enclosed by hers. Initially, Len had tried to refuse, but the scent of her perfume was just so enticing. Then her warm tongue entered his mouth. The boy moaned at how good it had felt. Len breathed in deeply as she released him briefly. He shook his head at her, trying to move away for some reason.

"Mmmh.. I know what you want.." The robe had fell from her shoulders as she reached behind her back. With a snap, her bra fell to the floor.

Len stared at the fallen article of clothing with a wide-eyed expression as heat rose to his face. He glanced back upwards before covering his eyes with his hands and letting out a strangled yelp. The boy did not normally look at porn, and seeing a friend naked was just not his cup of tea. "N-no, L-Luka!"

She pressed her bare chest against his armor, running her fingers through his blonde ponytail. The pink-haired woman pleaded, "Oh, Len. It won't hurt. It will make you feel good.. Forget about all of your worries.. Forget about Rin and those girls, and sleep with me.."

"No," Len said defiantly before shoving the woman off of him to the floor. This definitely wasn't Luka. If this was the real Luka, she would have never done this and would have offered to help Len find Rin, instead of being sexual on him. He scooped up his blade quickly before jutting it out towards her.

The woman gulped at the blade being inches away from her throat. Her eyes glanced from the weapon to his with a pleading look. "L-Len! Why are you doing this to me..? Aren't I your friend?"

"No friend of mine is a whore," he growled in response, pressing the tip closer to her neck.

Luka laughed darkly, flipping her hair back. She smirked at him. "Maybe, you aren't so stupid after all." Before Len could even begin to react, she had kicked the sword out of his hands in a sudden backwards flip. As he went to gather the weapon up, Luka had removed a hidden object from her hair, Within her fingertips, a pink flute was held. "Let me play a song for a stupid little boy," she announced before pressing the instrument to her lips and blowing.

Len bit his lip, staring at the flute incredulously. What did she plan to do with that? It just didn't make sense to him. He had a sword in his hands, and she was trying to fight with a flute of all things. He couldn't even hear any notes coming from the instrument.

Then Len heard something that frightened him instantly. A low rumbling had begun to echo back down the degraded hallway. He glanced from the door to Luka more than once as if to ask what was happening. He did not need to wait long, however.

A wave of brown rushed the door and exploded into the room. Millions of beady eyes and pink noses twitched ravenously. Tiny fangs opened wide as they began to rush him. Rats. Millions of those little animals like the one he had seen before now covered him in a rank, furry pile. They scratched at any open skin they could find and ripped at his hair.

Len yelped aloud, tasting fur. He did not even seem to find a solution, but he fought desperately, kicking and punching at the rats. The boy used his shield like a battering ram, trying to crawl through the massive pile, but more kept coming. This was certainly a way to die, suffocating beneath possibly the most dirtiest animals in existence.

"_Meow! Meow! Silly Len, I'm a kitty cat!"_

"_What about me?"_

"_We're twins so you're a kitty cat too. Meow, Len, meow! Mew meow meow! I love you!"_

It seemed so stupid and silly that Len tried what his memories had suggested. He yelled, "MREOWWRRRRR!"

Strangely enough, some rats yelped in unison, falling off in terror.

"MEOW! MEOW!" he continued to yell as more of the little animals began falling off of the pile. He clawed at the air with his hands and even tried hissing between his teeth. Len poked his head out of the pile, thrashing and meowing violently. He glanced at Luka. She had backed against the wall, desperately blowing upon her flute.

The rats ignored her. They had begun running away through tiny crevices in the walls. Len could free his arms now. He continued his meowing as he began rocking back and forth. The rats kept falling and running, falling and running.

Len kept on meowing until his legs were finally free. It was then that he leapt upon the fake Luka with his blade swinging.

She screamed one last, harsh time. Her arms and legs dangled limply as her torso had been thrown back. Her stomach had been pierced through. The flute rolled upon the floor, silent to Len's ears as it had been earlier.

The boy was panting heavily as he lowered her body to the floor. He had tiny scratches and tooth marks all over his face from those devilish animals. He still felt a pang of guilt at seeing Luka's wide, blue eyes frozen over. She was really a sweet girl, but in this world, she was a whore. Len pitied her so much that he slowly slid the blade out. Then he kneeled close to her bloodied face trembling. He left the dead woman with a single kiss upon the cheek before wiping his mouth and vowing to use a gallon of mouthwash if he ever got out of this place.

His first priority was to search the place. Len had grabbed the flute, stuffing it in his shield for good measure. He checked each book upon the book shelf as if it was a swinging 'hidden passageway' type, but none of the books had worked. Len tried the sofa next and even looked under the pillows. Nothing.

With a sickening shudder, he realized that he had to check the vanity, right where the woman had been sitting before. There were a set of drawers on the side with one large one in the center, but the center was locked with the other drawers being empty.

Len's reflection frowned in the mirror. Then his eyes caught something wrong with it. It seemed to be scratched in some places, long jagged lines. As he looked closer, he could see the jagged lines formed letters. It was hard to read yet he managed. "Open with the key of my heart."

Len had not remembered this Luka having a key on her when he had first seen her, and he wasn't about to check the body. Remembering the robe and the bra, he decided to check her clothing instead. There was nothing in the robe when he had searched through. He spied the undergarment with disgust, sticking his tongue out as he turned it over. Len almost threw up when he found the key inside one of the cups. "Unghhhhh," the boy moaned before picking the key up.

Len approached the vanity and thought of putting the key in the middle drawer because of it being the only one locked. Success. The key had turned easily in the slot with a clicking sound. Grinning, the boy opened the drawer to only frown. There was nothing inside but a single red ribbon. He tugged upon it, but it would just not come out of the drawer. Len kept yanking upon the thing until he realized that there was something wrong.

The boy had lost his balance as he had not realized that the ribbon opened a trap door beneath his feet. Len began falling as he thrashed around with a yell. Everything went dark as his head collided with something hard.

He awoke to a start due to a pungent odor entering his nose. It smelled horrible and salty. Then Len recognized the smell as death. The boy tried to stand up, but he was pulled back upon his back. His eyes blinked as he looked around him, causing him to throw up a bit in his mouth.

Silvery, sticky threads bound him together along with other objects. The threads stretched from one rock wall to another of a large chasm. The smell came from the fact that Len was between two decaying bodies. He could not tell what gender they were due to the amount of rotting that occurred. Torn clothing hung to their bodies, but strangely, no flies appeared to be buzzing. Though each shared its whole of strange bite marks. It did not take long for it to click within Len's mind. _Spiders_.

Terror crept upon the boy as he could not help but scream. He began to thrash widely against the threads, punching and kicking the bodies away from him as he struggled. Len could not managed to move his sword or shield as they pinned his arms to the gigantic web.

"Wait your turn, you little shrimp!" a familiar voice called.

"Let me go, Meiko!" he responded.

"My food knows me by my name?.. That's odd," the woman said with some confusion in her voice. "I've got to see this."

Len's heart began thumping rapidly as tapping noises began. He recognized the brunette woman, dressed in red, but he did not recognize what was attached to her hips. The body of a gigantic black widow formed legs, much like a centaur's. Len thrashed all the harder as sweat beaded upon his skin. He felt hot, sick, and scared all at the same time.

"Oh, stop thrashing, already! I'm not going to eat you right now, stupid shrimp," she said with a roll of her eyes as her front two legs touched the web. Meiko continued to crawl towards Len until she stood directly above him. Her torso bent forward as she reached her arms out to him, causing him to shudder again. The woman raised her arm and slapped him roughly, causing his head to come loose from the strands. "Don't you know how to treat a lady? Damn it."

Len bit his tongue sharply to keep from saying a sentence that would have surely caused the spider woman to feast upon him right then. However, he continued to sweat and breathe heavily.

Meiko smirked, running a finger over the contours of his face. ".. You're almost too cute to eat," she murmured. Spying the sword, the woman frowned. She grabbed the weapon from Len's palm and threw it back. The metal collided against the rock wall, falling onto the web and resting there. "I don't like it when my food attacks me," she said darkly. "Anyways.. Welcome to my home, shrimp."

Len did not know what to say, and even if he did, his throat was just too dry from fear to from a single sentence.

The spider rolled her eyes. Then they seemed to slant as a wide grin came across her face. The woman seemed to be drooling a bit. Meiko had glanced at the throbbing vein in Len's neck, and she wanted a taste of it. The monster wanted a taste of blood, of his soul like the two girls she had eaten beside him.

Len had come out of his frozen state at the sight of how hungry she looked. He began thrashing yet again, screaming plaintively. The spider growled, pinning his legs and arms with four of her eight legs.

"Shut up!" she yelled, slapping him yet again. Even Meiko had begun panting with irritation as her face turned a bright red, almost as bright as her shirt. "Say. One. More. Word. I will eat you right now if you even fucking think about it."

Meiko had not realized that her slapping had freed Len's arms. He continued to pretend that there was nothing the matter until she left, muttering something about spices. The boy reached into his shield, pulling out the pink piece of porcelain. Len hesitated, unsure if his plan would work.

When Meiko turned and began walking back, the boy blew upon the instrument as hard as he possibly could.

The woman had begun rushing towards him, thinking the flute was a weapon. She leapt upon the boy, pinning him back to the web and slapping him again. "What the fuck did you just do?!"

It did not take long for a rumbling to begin. The web began to shake violently, knocking the spider back. Thousands of little furry animals had come running down the walls and onto the web, an army of rats. It seemed as though it may stop, but no, more had come. The little creatures fell upon the web, rushing towards the center of it where Len and Meiko were. They had been called by the flute, much like the Pied Piper.

The woman had raised her hands to strike, but with a snapping sound, the web began to unravel. She shook unsteadily upon all eight of her legs, falling backwards upon her back. The web could take no more.

Len had grinned as he had begun falling. Tears streamed from his eyes due to the shock, and yet, he still managed to scream out, "KAITO!" There was always a chance that he would die from this fall that Kaito would just let him, but the boy felt that he would have been caught beforehand.

To Len's dismay, Kaito never came. The seconds passed as he continued to fall down the chasm. Little rat bodies floated around his head as the wind caused his hair to fly upwards. His heart raced as he glanced around, only seeing the two dead bodies. He screamed again, but it was too late.

_SPLAT._

He blinked. Steadily, Len was coming to. Instead of worrying about any injuries he might have sustained, all Len could think about was why the beast had not come to help. When he did notice his bodily damage, Len saw that he was not harmed despite minor bruising. The boy questioned why when he noticed that something had caught his fall. He wished he hadn't.

Blood, bones, some gooey liquid, and guts. With a sickening horror, Len realized what they had come from. The bodies of the two girls had embraced him it seemed. However, he also realized that the gooey liquid had come from the shattered body of an arachnid beneath the dead bodies. One could also not forget the rats.

The disgust overwhelmed him. Len threw up.

He rolled off the pile of bodies along with a few other rats. He just felt so sick and so nauseous. Len had not imagined that this would have happened. The boy didn't dream of bodies piling on top of each other and squishing together in absolute carnage. And to make it even worse, Len was caked in it. There had even been some in his mouth. Len coughed over and over, staggering around. He leaned upon a rock wall, staring up at the sky. "W-why?"

A sudden black figure illuminated the pit and began descending rapidly. Len recognized the creature as Kaito. He grinned widely, waving his arm towards the gigantic bat. "Kaito!" the boy cried, rushing towards the bat as it touched ground. Len did not seem to care about the beast's appearance as he wrapped his arms around the creature's neck.

A guttural growling emitted as Len was suddenly tossed into the air, colliding against the rock wall before sliding down. The boy fell upon a pile of rats and web. He pulled himself back up shaking. "K-Kaito..?" he questioned, dazed by the bat's sudden attack. Len barely avoided a charge as Kaito's horns buried themselves into the rock face. "STOP IT!" Len screamed. But the bat just tore through the bodies.

Len saw that there was no way to reason with the creature. It was just too mad. He needed a weapon. He needed it now. Len rolled out of another charge, clutching his hurt arm. Where was his sword? He realized with a start that it was buried beneath the pile of bodies. Another charge. "KAITO! STOP!" he screamed again. The bat just would not listen.

Rats fell upon him like rain. His shield was battered as the poor creatures fell upon it. There seemed to be no way out. Len knew it. He was going to die. No one was here to save him. No Kaito, no animals. Nothing.

He felt brutality as the monster collided with his shield. Len fell against the wall in pain. The monster loomed overhead, glaring at the boy with its cat-like eyes. It raised a paw to strike the boy. Tears escaped the boy's eyes as he realized what he needed to do. The bat pounded against Len's shield, causing massive amounts of intensity to rush his hurt arm. The boy let out a shrill scream before sinking into a fetal position. "I-I'm s-sorry.. Girls… Kaito.. Rin," he murmured.

When the bat shrieked to finally end Len's life, the boy did what he imagined. His shield scraped against the wall, causing a shower of sparks. Even when the boy was being dragged across the rock face, sparks befell the area. He felt heat rush against his face as his bruised befallen body launched into the sky, an explosion. Fire roared all over the chasm.

He had lost. The boy had lost everything. With his death, Rin's would come sure enough. Kaito was certain to die as well in such an explosion. What would his parents say? What about his friends in reality?

Len knew this was the last time he would ever say another word, another sentence, and to that effect, he said, "Rin.. Kaito.." Then the world went black.

_Beep. Beep…_

Len awoke to a steady rhythm of beeping noises. He felt warm and comfort. Something was covering his face. He didn't smell death or candy. He just smelled something clean and fresh. When he opened his eyes, the boy saw a multitude of faces gathered around.

"Luka! Len's awake!" Miku cried. Sure enough, her pink-haired companion was soon standing next to her with a small smile on her face. The girl was grinning widely and blabbering about something excitedly.

Until Meiko placed a hand over her mouth, the older woman smirked. "What chatterbox is saying is that we found you passed out. You're in the hospital now. How do you feel shrimp?"

His throat was dry as he murmured, "Rin.. Where's Rin?" Len had ripped the face mask off of him. He stood upon his feet weakly, almost falling over. The boy was caught by strong sturdy hands. Len found himself staring up into the face of Gakupo. They both frowned in recognition of each other, but instead of what the younger boy had expected, the purple-haired man lifted Len into his arms as Miku and Luka pushed the IV trailing behind Len.

Rin was asleep in another bed in the room. She seemed so peaceful, so angelic on her pillow.

Len smiled as tears began to stream from his eyes. Gakupo had placed Len upon the bed next to her, and the IV machine rested beside the two. The boy snuggled up next to his sister, cradling her in his arms.

"Alright, kiddos. Let's leave the two shrimps alone," Meiko suddenly said, pushing a complaining Miku out of the room with Luka and Gakupo following close behind.

Len laughed before turning his attention to his beloved sister. "Rin…" He quickly adjusted the covers over them both.

"Len," she whispered, turning towards him with a grin on her face. "You're okay…"

"Of course, I am.. I'm your knight in shining armor. Remember?"

"Right," she said with a giggle. Her eyes widened for a second as she realized something. Reaching the other side of the bed, the girl held out an object to Len. "Look!" she said with a wide grin.

It was a stuffed rabbit.


End file.
